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SF 



POULTRY 
DISEASES 



AND THEIR REMEDIES 



The cause, symptoms 
and treatment of all dis- 
eases known to poultry. 

Price SO Cents 



BY 

J. GAYLORD !R 




Class rSjfgfrT- 

Book_^ 
Copyright N°_ 



COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 



Digitized by the Internet Archive 
in 2011 with funding from 
The Library of Congress 



http://www.archive.org/details/poultrydiseasest01blai 



Poultry Diseases 

And Their Remedies 



The cause, symptons, and 
treatment of all diseases 
known to Poultry . . 




BY 

J. GAYLORD BLAIR 



. 



Copyrighted 1910 

By 

J. GAYLORD BLAIR 



C&U2?838. 



INTRODUCTION 

The pleasure of helping others is one of our greatest 
blessings. When we help others we help ourselves, and 
our joys increase. This book is intended to render assist- 
ance to all persons who keep fowls and who may some 
time need help while their birds are stricken with disease. 
The name of this little book describes its nature: "Poultry 
Diseases and their Remedies." This little book was not 
written in a day nor a month, but it has taken me years 
to get it ready to place before the public. During all the 
past years I have given this subject my earnest and care- 
ful study and I feel that I am in a position to give the 
poultry world something that they will appreciate. I have 
tried to avoid technical terms and any one capable of un- 
derstanding the simplest written language cannot fail to 
comprehend the full meaning of every subject treated. In 
sending out this little book into the world I feel that the 
benefits should be equal. The information contained in 
its pages has been sought from all quarters and from the 
most progressive and up-to-date thinkers on these subjects. 
From this store of information and my own practical ex- 
perience I have prepared this book, and dedicate it to the 
poultry raisers of the world. 

J. GAYLORD BLAIR, Author 



POULTRY DISEASES 



CHAPTER I. 



REQUIREMENTS OF HEALTH 



How to keep your birds healthy — How to prevent Disease 
From breaking out in a flock — With helpful sugges- 
tions — Selecting the breeding stock, Feeding, 

Housing, Etc. 
It is easier to prevent disease than it is to cure it, 
therefore we should study the different things that cause 
the diseases and try to prevent them. In most every case 
where diseases break out in a flock it can be traced back 
to filthy quarters, improper feeding, or neglect of care and 
attention on the owner's part. Remember that the owner 
or the person that cares for them has the entire control 
over them. We can kill any undesirable specimen at any 
time; if it is sick we can either kill or isolate it at once. 
This gives us power to prevent and stamp out the disease 
or trouble to some extent. If we will take every disease 
in time we can most always check it from spreading. Of 
course we can't prevent sudden climatic changes, accidents 
and certain insiduous contagious disorders which will oc- 
casionally break out on the best regulated plants, but in 
most every case disease can be prevented by good care and 
the proper management of the plant. 

As a general thing disease is not thought of until it 
is present, in this case the birds are not properly taken 
care of or they would not be apt to contract disease. Their 
food is not right, the water is impure, the attention of the 
owner is not what it should be and all of these things 
placed together will make something large. We think 



AND THEIR REMEDIES 5 

that this little matter will not amount to much but if we 
neglect one thing we will another and before we realize 
what we are doing we have neglected other things. Small 
things placed together will make a large one. One penny 
might not buy what we want but if we placed more with 
it we can then make our desired purchase. Remember that 
if we will watch the small things the large ones will take 
care of themselves. 

Most beginners do not know how to treat their birds 
after they get sick, they cannot properly diagnose a case. 
There are many diseases that affect poultry to day that 
some people have never heard of, is it any wonder they 
can't prevent and cure disease? Most people think that all 
diarrhoea is "cholera" and that all birds that have a dis- 
charge from the eyes and nostrils have "roup" hence they 
treat for these diseases and their birds die or do not im- 
prove, otherwise if they could diagnose the case and give 
the bird the proper treatment and care they would be able 
to cure the bird. In order to cure and prevent disease you 
must know the nature of it and then you can care for them 
in an intelligent manner. I believe this little book will 
give you all the information you will ever want in regard 
to the different diseases known to affect poultry. 

Always Breed for Health . . . 

In selecting the breeding stock always select birds 
that are strong, well developed and breed from no bird 
that has ever had any disease for this bird is likely to have 
a weak constitution, and it will always show in their off- 
spring. A bird whose comb does not look bright should 
also be discarded and nothing should be used in the breed- 
ing pen that does not possess a bright, red comb; this is 
a good sign the bird is in a healthy condition. If we ex- 
pect to have healthy birds we must breed for this as well 
as standard points. If we have good points in other re- 
spects what good will the bird be to us if it is not healthy 
and robust? After we have a strong healthy flock of birds 
we can then have a good solid foundation to work from 
and begin building on. Remember the well known law of 
heredity, "like produces like" and if you have weakly 
birds in the breeding pen you can expect the off-spring to 
be weak also. 



6 POUL TR Y DISEASES 

Shun "Cured" Birds 

If you have birds that have had a serious disease do 
not think of using them in the breeding pen for they will 
produce weak birds if you do. The bird might appear in 
the best of condition now, still the vitality of this specimen 
is weak, and it may possibly show in the off-spring of this 
certain bird. Especially if it had roup, canker, consump- 
tion etc. There is little use to waste time and money try- 
ing to cure a diseased bird unless it a very valuable show 
bird. If the sickness of the bird is of a serious nature it 
will never be the same any more. If you know how and 
will use the "axe" you will be better off than the other 
fellow that uses $3.00 worth of medicine to cure a $1.00 
bird. Never breed from "cured" birds if you do it will 
cause you a great lot of trouble. 

Use Care in Selecting the Breeding Stock. 

In the selection of breeding birds be sure that the 
bird has size, vigor and a sound constitution. If possible 
it is best to know that they have come from strong healthy 
birds. Breed only from birds that are matured ones. Also 
see that the bird is in perfect health; if the comb is a 
bright red, the plumage soft and smooth, legs with good 
color, keen apetite, etc., you can rest assured the bird is 
in the right condition to place in the breeding pen. Every 
one should use great care in selecting the birds for the 
breeding pens; this is one of the most important things in 
breeding poultry. If you get wrong here every thing is 
wrong. If you mate wrong for standard points or health 
either. It is better to have birds with strong constitu- 
tions than good standard points. Birds without health are 
worthless even if they are up to the standard in other 
respects. If you have birds that are strong and robust 
you can breed and improve their standard qualities but ii 
you have them up to the standard with weak constitution 
you are certainly up against it. This very thing is what 
causes poor hatches and weak germs. How often do we 
hear people say that "my chickens are dying," "I can't 
raise my chickens, they are all dying," etc.? Low vitality 
in the breeding birds is the cause. They do not use enough 
care in selecting the breeding birds. If you hatch chicks 
from stock that is robust and healthy you can't hardly 



AND THEIR REMEDIES 7 

stop this little fellow from growing but otherwise your 
results will be very discouraging. 

Do not think that if you have a good male bird in 
the breeding pen that you can mate him with any kind of 
females and get good results, for you will be disappointed" if 
you do. While the male bird is half of the breeding pen; 
still you must mate good healthy females with him if you 
expect good results from this mating. In selecting birds see 
that they have no deformities whatever and that they are 
perfect specimens in their classes, both from a physical 
and standard standpoint. 

Inbreeding 

The mating of birds that are closely related is called 
inbreeding. This has caused persons to fail in the poultry 
business. While mating two birds that are related might 
produce the desired results along standard lines still their 
off-spring would be weak and without vigor and low in 
vitality. In-breeding if practiced will soon bring disap- 
pointment to the breeder. Some breeders avoid mating 
brothers and sisters together; others breed together their 
best birds for their purposes, regardless of relationship. Un- 
derstand your birds and know what you are doing and you 
will find this will be best. Remember line breeding is not 
inbreeding. . 

Some Common Causes of Disease. 

There are many things that can cause disease to break 
out among your flock and if all these are traced back to 
the origin you will soon discover it is your fault nine times 
out of ten. Vermin is a very common cause of disease; for 
birds that have vermin on them will take disease quicker, 
for they are in a condition that they can't throw off the 
germs. Impure water, dampness, crowding, improper food 
and care and want of exercise are all common causes of 
disease. Even a strong constitution is liable to break 
down under these conditions. 

How and Where to Locate the Buildings. 

All poultry buildings should face the south and should 
be built on well drained land. They should be dry, roomy 
and well ventilated. The most satisfactory plan for a 
poultry house is the fresh-air one. In such houses the 
air is always pure and you will find that birds will do much 



8 POULTRY DISEASES 

better in such houses. The egg yield will be larger, the- 
vitality of the birds will be higher, the eggs more fertile 
and will hatch stronger and better chicks. You need not 
have high priced land for your plant; if it is dry well 
drained land it will be all right and will be just as good 
as higher priced land. If possible have it lay or slope to- 
ward the south, south-east or south-west. 

Do not have drafts over the birds or you will have 
trouble. Have three sides air tight and the front side 
•open for ventilation. And do not close unless it is very 
stormy. A bird can stand much more cold if it has an 
abundance of pure fresh air to breath than it can if it is 
■closed up in a tight house without the pure fresh air. Low 
roofed houses are much warmer and also cheaper to build. 
Sunshine a Good Preventative for Disease 

In constructing the poultry house try to plan it so as 
to have the sun penetrate to all parts of it. Sun light is 
one of the very best preventatives for disease. If there 
was no sun light how long would the different animals 
and vegetables live in this world? No poultry house 
should be built so the sun could not shine in it most of 
the day. Sunshine and fresh air is a cheap and sure dis- 
infectant. Have both the brooder and breeding houses ar- 
ranged so that the sun can shine in at all times of the day. 
Many small chicks die annually from the lack of sunshine 
in the brooder and brooder house. The brooder should be 
sunned and aired daily if you expect to raise good healthy 
chicks. Have the house arranged so that the little fellows 
can have a sun bath daily. Also provide shade as well; 
and remember if you go to extremes with either you will 
not be successful with your attempt. Sunshine is very im- 
portant to health. 

The "Dust" or Earth Bath. 

The aust bath is the natural method of keeping body 
and feathers clean and also keeping them free from ver- 
min. It is very important and should be looked after jfast 
the same as the other small points that help to make the 
poultry business successful. The best place for the dust 
bath is to locate it in the corner of the breeding pen and 
use only fresh earth, for this is much better than dust and 
the birds would rather have it. By dusting in this earth 



AND THEIR REMEDIES 9 

bath, the birds will keep their feathers and skin clean and 
in a healthy sanitary condition and by adding a little in- 
sect powder, they will also free themselves from all ver- 
min. This dust bath has been recommended for years as 
a sure remedy for vermin on poultry and if this is sup- 
plied the birds will do the rest. Always keep the earth a 
little moist. It should be changed at least every two weeks. 
How to Arrange the Roosts and Dropping Boards. 
Place the roosts about two feet from the floor and 
provide dropping boards under them. Do not place them 
high for this will cause the birds to injure themselves 
many times. If you place the roosts near the ceiling the 
breath from the fowls condences on the ceiling and walls 
in cold weather in the form of heavy frost and this makes 
the sleeping quarters damp and unsanitary. Do not use 
small narrow roosts for this will cause bumble foot, corns, 
etc. The best roost is made from a piece of timber 2 by 
3 or 4 inches with the edges beveled or rounded. Have 
them arranged so as not to have any places for mites to 
harbor in. Have the dropping boards about four inches 
below the roosts and have them plenty wide to catch every 
thing; a board 2 4 inches wide is sufficient for a single 
roost. Clean the board every morning. It pays to keep 
the house clean and sanitary. Use a good disinfectant 
twice a week. 

Avoid "House Sweating." 

This can be avoided by proper ventilation and sun- 
ning. You never experience "house sweating" if you use 
the open front or fresh-air plan. Do not crowd too many 
birds in a coop or house for the result will be cold and 
roup. Do not under any circumstances allow more birds 
to occupy a coop or house than can really be cared for in 
such quarters for if you do it will cause you trouble. 
Dampness and house sweating will be the result. Airing 
and sunning the house will eliminate this trouble. Do not 
close your house tight under any circumstance whatever. 
Even if the temperature is very low do not think that by 
having the house air tight it will be warmer, for it won't. 
Drinking Water. 

Never allow impure water to be before your 1 birds, 
for in this way probably more diseases are spread "'a^n^ 



10 POULTRY DISEASES 

caused than in any other way. If the water is not pure, 
disease is likely to creep out on us. Even as in human be- 
ings the water is the fruitful source of trouble. Do not 
waste time of placing pure water in dirty fountains but 
clean the founts every other day at least with scalding wa- 
ter. Do not give your birds any water to drink that you 
would not drink yourself and in this way you can know they 
get the best of water. All drinking vessels should be made 
so they can be cleaned easily. 

Foods. 

The rations should contain grains, mineral foods, 
green foods, together with grit, oyster shells and char- 
coal. These different varieties of food have an important 
influence on the health of the bird. The grain food may 
be wheat, oats, barley, rye, sunflower seed, millet, corn, 
etc. Most any of the commercial scratch foods are good 
and in these you get this variety of grains. The green 
food should consist of cabbage, lettuce, turnips, fresh 
growing grass or sprouted grains such as oats, wheat, etc. 
The former preferred. In winter alfalfa leaves will be 
found a good substitute for green food. Mineral foods 
should consist of fresh beef scraps, green cut bone, beef 
meal and blood meal. Mineral food is very important to 
the health of the fowl. The best and cheapest mineral 
food that can be found is fresh green bone. This can be 
secured very cheap if you get the bones from the butcher 
shop and cut them on a bone cutter. There is no better 
egg producer than this. 

You can also keep a dry mash before them at all 
times in hoppers and the birds go and eat as they wish. 
This mash should consist of one part wheat middlings, two 
parts bran and one part corn meal. To every peck of 
dry mash add a tablespoonful of fine table salt. There is 
no better food for fowls than butter milk, skim milk and 
clabber. These are also very good for moulting birds. 

Do not over feed your birds and get them too fat. 
Feed all grain in a deep litter and make them exercise af- 
ter all the grain food they get. If you get your birds too 
fat, you will be troubled with egg bound birds, leg weak- 
ness, apoplexy, congestion of the brain, etc. Feed only 
what they will clean up and no more. Use good judgment 



AND THEIR REMEDIES / / 

in feeding your birds if you see they are getting too fat 
you can cut the ration down. 

Exercise. 

It is just as important to have our fowls tak'e exer- 
cise as it is to take exercise ourselves. Of course we real- 
ize what it would do for us if we did not take exercise. 
Our health would scon break down if we did not take ex- 
ercise of some kind daily. If you will make your birds ex- 
ercise you will find they will be healthier, more robust, 
and will hatch stronger chicks from the eggs laid by them. 
This will also keep them from getting over fat. When you 
see a bird suffering from being over fat or having conges- 
tion of the brain and apoplexy you can say right then that 
these troubles were brought on by not making your fowls 
take the proper amount of exercise. 

When you feed dry mash from hoppers you should 
let the birds have free range as much as possible. In 
feeding grains you should feed it in the litter and make 
them work and exercise after the last grain of it. If you 
feed the grain in the morning this will keep them scratch- 
ing after it most all day. Birds will lay more eggs while 
they are confined in yards than when running on free 
range but as a general thing they do not hatch as well 
and what chicks that do hatch seem weak. This is caused 
by not enough exercise. 

Even small chicks need exercise and if you give them 
the right food in a litter they will begin to scratch for it 
when they are only a few days old and this is what makes 
them grow fast and develope into large robust fellows. 
Just as soon as they get large enough to look after them- 
selves it is better to make them <roam out into the field 
and you will find that they will grow faster and make 
much better birds than they would if they were allowed to 
stand around your door all day looking for you to throw 
them something to eat. Birds that try to make their own 
living and roam out into the fields are the ones that make 
the winners and good breeders. Remember that sunshine, 
evercise and fresh air is the best preventative known for 
•diseases. 

How to Handle Contagious Diseases 

Did you ever notice that the first birds to take some 



12 



FO UL TR Y DISEASES 



contagious disease is always the weakest one in the flock? 
Birds that are healthy and active are seldom stricken with 
disease. To prevent a contagious disease from spreading 
you should isolate the sick bird at once as soon as dis- 
covered. Begin to clean up the house and remove all 
litter, dust and clean thoroughly and disinfect with a 
good reliable disinfectant and continue this every day. Re- 
move the litter on the floor every week at least. In hand- 
ling diseased birds you should not go direct to the well 
ones for all this is a good way to scatter the germs. Do not 
keep the sick birds in the same room with the well ones. 
It is a good idea to have a pest house and keep all sick 
birds in it until they get entirely well. 

Avoid Tonics and Medicines. 

A bird that you have to "doctor" up all the time with 
tonics will be no value as a breeder and you should not 
fool trying to get this bird in the right condition for 
breeding purposes, for the chicks hatched from such birds 
will be weak and will never amount to anything. Do 
not give tonics and egg foods to healthy birds thinking 
that they will lay more eggs for they are doing their best 
and it will only tend to weaken the organs of the bird and 
the result will be a fall off in the egg yield. The less dos- 
ing you give your birds the better off they will be. If 
you keep grit, oyster shells and charcoal before your birds 
at all times they will not need much if any medicine. A 
good disinfectant is very beneficial and should be used 
about the house and yards every week at least but out side 
of this tonics and medicines are not necessary and if you 
have birds that have to be dosed to be kept alive you 
should get rid of them at once. 




AND THEIR REMEDIES 13 



CHAPTER II. 



THE SKIN 



Chickenpox 



A disease that is not always fatal, but one that will bring 

down the General Health of Fowls and opens the Way 

for other diseases — two species of the disease — 

Symptoms and Cure. 

This disease that is known as sore head, warts, pigeon 
pox, pian, etc. is in my opinion one of the worst diseases 
that can affect poultry. Chickenpox is not necessarily 
fatal, but it is a disease that will soon bring down the 
general health of a bird, and therefore opens the way for 
other diseases. Some years past when I was not as fa- 
miliar with it is I am now, I thought cholera an roup 
were the worst diseases that could affect poultry, but now 
I do not think it. During these years past I have had ex- 
periences with almost every disease known to affect poul- 
try, and I must say that chickenpox is one of the worst 
I had to deal with. Before this I thought it was nothing 
more than a few little "Pimples" that would appear on 
the comb and wattles of birds and hence I did not know 
how, to take it, but since I have found that these little pim- 
ples grow like weeds and will soon make large ones that 
will cover the whole .face of the bird in one night's time. 
Of course some cases will be; milder than others, and in 
such cases there will only be one or more very small warts 
or pox sores. With chicken-pox you are also' liable to be 
annoyed by two other very bad diseases, canker and roup. 
Whenever these warts or pox sores come in the mouth 
of the bird you now have canker to contend with and when 



14 POULTRY DISEASES 

the birds catches the least bit of cold, roup is very likely 
to be your next enemy. 

What Cause This Growth? 

There must be some moisture present to produce this 
fungus growth, therefore, it is more likely to break out 
among your birds in the late fall when there are weeks 
of dark, damp weather. If it appears in the dead of winter 
you are not likely to be annoyed very much. Houses that 
are not kept clean, and are allowed to become damp and 
wet, and especially when the accumulated droppings are 
allowed to become damp. This is an ideal place to grow 
these germs. These germs are known as bacteria and 
they are very small, living organisms, and can only be 
seen by means of a miscroscope. Warmth and moisture fav- 
or the development of these germs, and it is always of a 
milder form in the North than in the South. When it 
breaks out among a flock there is no use to isolate the af- 
fected birds; most of the other birds have been exposed to 
it, and the symptoms will begin to appear in a few days. 
The best thing you can do to check it is to place a few drops 
of creolin or permanganate of potash in their drinking 
water, and allow no other drink for them. Begin at once 
to clean things up and disinfect thoroughly with some 
good reliable disinfectant. Let the house air and dry 
well. Remove the old litter and replace with new, also 
clean the old droppings away. If everything is watched 
up close and kept clean you will be rewarded for it later, 
by getting the trouble under headway. 

Two Kinds of Chickenpox, Moist and Dry, 

There are two kinds of chickenpox, the moist and the 
dry. I do not know which kind is the worst but I notice: 
the miost variety always appears in or about the eyes. The 
bird will sometimes lose both its sight and its eyes. The 
pox warts will appear on the sight and cause the bird great 
pain and loss of the eye. In some cases the eye will go 
out in one day's time, then the glands in and about the 
eye will become affected and the eye will run water for 
some time, later turning to a cheesey matter. Now you 
have canker to deal with. The dry variety I think is the 
easiest to cure. The moist variety will be a dark bluish. 



AND THEIR REMEDIES 15 

color and the sores or warts will be of a very oily appear- 
ance. The dry is a lighter color, and the surface very dry 
and crusty. 

Symptoms. 

About twenty-four hours before the warts appear the 
comb and wattles will have small specks of dry blood on 
them, then the warts will appear later. The bird will 
nave a very high fever, will be very thirsty, and will 
stand around and sometimes sit on the roost all day. The 
small round swellings called nodules, now appear and are 
flattened, but later, become elevated and are of a yellowish 
or a red color. They are seen in most cases first upon the 
featherless parts of the head. From the time they first 
appear until about three days afterwards they will appear 
very fast, and will be in thick clusters, and in some cases 
this fungus will grow or multiply until it covers the whole 
side of the face or comb. In mild cases these warts will be 
scattered over the face and comb and will not grow to be 
any size. The condition of the bird when the disease 
breaks out, determines the course or how bad it will end. 
If the system of the bird is in good shape the disease will 
be light, but if in bad shape the disease will more than 
likely to go very hard with it. These warts may appear on 
any part of the body, but they most generally appear on the 
face and combs, and under the wings. They will vary in 
size very much, some will be about the size of a pin head, 
while others may be as large as a pea or bean or even 
larger than that. As long as you can keep the nodles 
confined to the head and face you are all right, but just 
as soon as they appear in the mouth, throat, and nostrils 
your trouble begins. 

Roup and Canker Now Appear 

The inside of the mouth will now become full of thick 
saliva, sores will now appear on the tongue and on the 
roof of the mouth, and sometimes down in the throat and 
at the opening of the windpipe. The nostrils will have 
a discharge running from them, the eyes will run a milky 
looking watery fluid, which will later become thick and 
purulent and cause the lids to stick together. Now as 
this watery matter is full of these germs (bacteria) it 
will begin to get thicker and thicker until it will be of a 



16 POULTRY DISEASES 

very hard cheesy matter. Now you are up against it. 
You have canker and roup to contend with and the best 
thing for you to do at this time is to kill and cremate all 
birds that are affected. You will always notice that birds 
that get this far along and develop canker and roup are 
the weakest in your flock and it always goes hardest with 
them. 

If you will catch the bird you will soon discover that 
it is very thin and seems to be a fit subject for the "bone- 
yard." It will stand around on one foot without any 
energy, will refuse to drink or eat, and you will have to 
feed it in order to prevent starvation. The feathers will 
stand on their ends, and the bird is certainly a poor look- 
ing prospect of ever amounting to anything if it should 
happen to pull through. In twenty-four to thirty-six hours 
after chickenpox makes its appearance the bird will be 
thin, where before it was fat and in good shape. This 
dreadful disease will certainly cause the bird to decrease 
in strength and flesh. 

Treatment. 

The first thing to do in treating the affected birds is 
to place them in a light, dry, well ventilated coop bedded 
with plenty of clean straw. Change this at least every 
other day, and do not allow it to get the least bit damp or 
wet, for you will have a place for germs to accumulate. I 
believe I said above that it was no use to isolate birds af- 
ter they were exposed to it, but you will have a better 
chance to treat them if you will place them in a coop 
away from the rest of the flock. It will be only for treat- 
ment and not for the protection of the well ones. 

After you have removed the affected birds from the 
well ones, begin to clean out the houses and coops. Re- 
move the droppings from the roost or dropping boards, 
clean the old litter from the floor, remove the nests, and 
in fact clean the house of every thing that you can get out. 
Sweep it and remove all particles of dirt, dust, etc. Now 
get several buckets of water and place three tablespoonfuls 
of carbolic acid in each bucket so as to make it real 
strong. Take an old broom and begin to scour it from 
top to bottom. Be sure to begin it in time so it will be 
dry for the -fowls to roost in the following night. After 



AND THEIR REMEDIES 17 

you do this take a gallon of water and add to this enough 
of creolin to turn the water milky color and if you have 
a sprayer take it and spray every crack, nest, etc., full of 
this solution. Then go out in the yards or runs and spray 
well. Let the house air and dry well then place clean 
bright straw on the floor and make new nests. Now you 
have the house perfectly clean and ready for the birds to 
roost in again. Give the well birds a few drops of creolin V 
in their drinking water and if you have only a few birds 
to treat you can prevent the well birds to some extent from 
taking it by bathing their combs and face wtih a 50 per 
cent solution of creolin and water several times a day. 

Treating the Sick Birds. 

The wart or pox S3res have appeared. You can now re- 
move them with your finger nail. Upon doing this you 
will discover the tissue underneath will be a bright red and 
will bleed. This is all right. Never mind the bleeding, but 
after you have removed the warts apply pure dioxygen to 
the raw surface. This will foam up like soap suds but this 
is the good of it. It is destroying the germs (bacteria) 
that are present. If no bacteria is present it will not 
foam. After applying the above to them, new with a 
feather apply pure creolin to these raw parts. In twenty- 
four hours this will form a black scab over them which 
will dry and fall off in three or four days leaving a new 
skin underneath, but in the meantime you can still apply 
dioxygen to these black scabs for fear there may be some 
more germs present. 

If the eyes become affected and in most cases they do, 
wash them out with a 50 per cent solution of dioxygen and 
water, and watch them and do not let any pus form in 
them but clean them out twice a day at least. When the 
eye goes completely out the only thing that you can do is 
to keep the cankerous growth from appearing, by applying 
dioxygen and creolin to the affected parts. If the pox 
sores or warts appear near the mouth or inside treat as 
above, but if canker sores come remove the yellow growth 
and apply dioxygen to the raw parts as long as it foams 
them apply burnt alum and boric acid equal parts with a 
straw or small powder gun. If the bird takes cold give it 
a one grain tablet of quinine night and morning until it is 



18 POULTRY DISEASES 

broken up. Give twenty drops of nox vomica in a quart of 
drinking water to the sick bird as a tonic. 

Feed on stimulating food so as to keep the birds in as 
good shape as possible. If both eyes are affected you will 
have to feed the bird from your hand to keep it from starv- 
ing. A bird will eat soft food when sick before it will 
hard so remember, always, to feed a sick bird on soft 
mashes. 

Fish-skin. 

This disease resembles scaly-leg very much as it 
presents a very rough, dry, dirty appearance on the shanks 
and toes as we find where scaly-leg is present. Although 
fish-skin has no parasite life at work but it is the general 
belief that it is caused from some very bad functional ac- 
tion or disturbances of the bird. It is not contagious by 
any means and can not be passed from bird to bird. Filth 
may be one of the causes; for the legs certainly have a 
bad appearance. The affected parts seem to cause the bird 
much pain or annoyance by irritation which compels the 
bird to scratch, thereby increasing it. 

Treatment. 

Local treatment is all that can be recommended for 
fish-skin and rub well with carbolated vaseline, this will 
soften the dry scales and remove the irritating annoyance 
and greatly help the appearance of the shanks and toes. 
Continue the treatment until the trouble is cured. 

Eczema. 

This is another disease that we do not know hardly 
how to class, some seem to think that eczema is the sa,me 
as white comb but I disagree with them there for it is no 
doubt that they are two separate diseases. But both I be- 
lieve come from about the same source, some constitution- 
al cause. It is purely a blood disease caused from over- 
feeding of a highly nitrogenous ration which will cause ex- 
cretion to be affected. Some of our best medical authori- 
ties claim, eczema in the human race is a skin disease in- 
stead of blood. And most of them give local treatment in- 
stead of internal. If the blood is right the skin is bound 
to be so I stick to it that you should go to the bottom of 
the trouble and get the blood in the proper condition. 



AND THEIR REMEDIES 19 

It is not contagious and is never passed by contact 
from bird to bird. An improved diet is needed very bad- 
ly; more clover and green food should be fed. 

Symptoms. 

White pimples will appear on the comb and wattles, 
later increase in size and break and run together, dry on 
the surface and become crusted and present a very bad ap- 
pearance. They are very fine and white and somewhat 
raised and seem to have just the thin skin over them. The 
bird will have no energy, little appetite, listless and a very 
tired appearance indeed. After a few days the bird will de- 
crease in flesh very rapidly. 

Treatment. 

Isolate for treatment, and begin feeding more green 
food, cut clover, green vegetables, etc., and feed liberally. 
A few drops of nux vomica in the drinking water will help 
build up the bird's constitution. Change your method of 
feeding at once and give free range to the rest of the flock 
where they can have plenty of exercise and green grass 
which will stimulate digestion and blood circulation. 

To the affected birds annoint the parts with eloate of 
zinc. And give two grains of calomel every ot'-ier day for 
four or five times. Also one grain pill of citrate of iron 
and quinine every morning for one week. This will help 
clear the system up and increase the strength and health 
of the bird. - 

Wind Puff. 

The cause of this trouble is unknown. It appears in 
both old and young birds but it appears mostly in chicks. 
I have seen hens that were three years old have it and they 
were puffed up until they were as large as two hens should 
be. It is a gathering of wind under the skin, hence it is 
where it took its name. 

Treatment. 

Puncture the skin with some instrument and let the 
air escape, a large needle will answer the purpose very 
well. If after several treatments the wind still continues to 
gather you can take a small pair of shears and clip out 
some of the skin and apply some carbolated vaseline. 



20 POULTRY DISEASES 



CHAPTER III. 



LEGS AND FEET 



Bumble-foot. 

This trouble will cause the bird much pain and worry 
because this inflamed and tender condition is on the bot- 
tom of the foot and of course the bird must use the af- 
fected foot more or less which causes the inflamed parts to 
become more irritated. The tissues underlying the skin 
become irritated which usually develops pus or matter. As 
the trouble develops and the pressure increases causing the 
blood supply to be shut off, pus forms and increases very 
rapidly which works out in other parts of the foot and leg. 
If something is not done for the bird death is most sure to 
follow. 

Causes. 

In most cases that I have seen, bumble foot seems to 
come from a bruise or corn and it is the general belief of 
poultrymen that it is caused by birds jumping from high 
roosts down on the hard floor. It can be caused from some 
foreign body getting in the foot and causing the irritation. 
Splinters, bits of glass, thorns, etc. Or it could be caused 
by germs (bacteria) getting into some puncture produced 
by the above foreign bodies rather than jumping from high 
roosts for I have known cases of it where there were no 
roosts to jump from. 

Symptoms. 

The bird will limp slightly at first and as the disease 
advances it will walk with great difficulty, and sometimes 
sit down most of the time. You will notice the bird when 
walking that it will hurry to get from the bad to the well 



JIND THEIR REMEDIES 21 

foot. Advanced stages show more or less swelling in the 
foot and leg, especially in the ankle joint. 

Treatment. 

When the case is in its early stages it can usually be 
cured by painting the affected parts with iodine every day 
for one week. In real bad cases where there is a great 
deal of swelling and pus, it will be necessary for you to op- 
en the foot and let the pus out so you can reach the bed of 
the trouble. With a sharp, clean, thin bladed knife lance 
the foot, let the pus run out, now with a little luke warm 
water wash the wound out thoroughly. Now apply dioxy- 
gen to the wound and when the liquid ceases to boil in the 
wound, dry with a soft linen cloth or better still use absorb- 
ant cotton. Now wash the wound out with a solution of 
nitrate of silver, about twelve grains to one ounce of dis- 
tilled water. Another very good remedy is to wash it out 
with a solution of carbolic acid and water, about a one per 
cent solution. And anoint daily with carbolated vaseline. 

Keep the bird in a roomy coop well bedded with clean 
straw and do not let it out on the ground until it is entirely 
well of the trouble. It is of a very little use to treat the 
bird then let it run out on the dirty, filthy yard. When 
you see a bird tip toeing or limping you had better examine 
it at once and the quicker you get the trouble checked the 
better it will be. Some cases have run on until the best 
of treatment will be of little use. If you will place a few 
drops of nux vomica in the drinking water it will be a good 
tonic for the bird while under treatment. 

Leg-weakness. 

Leg-weakness is seldom seen in light breeds such as 
Leghorns, etc., but is very often found in some of the larg- 
er breeds of the Asiatic class also the English and Ameri- 
can classes. We seldom see it in old birds but chicks up 
to six months old. Small chicks very often fall prey to.it; 
and we usually find back of this trouble some very "bad 
methods of feeding. When any one tries to increase the 
weight or size of a bird at the expense of time, this trouble 
will be sure to make its appearance in your flock. The 
weight of the body is larger than the legs can support, 
hence this is where the disease first took its name. Often 



22 POUL TR Y DISEASES 

you find it where condiments or "egg foods" have been fed 
in very large quantities. Where fat producing foods have 
been fed in large quantity and feeding too little bone and 
muscle food, leg-weakness appears. Usually bad judge- 
ment in feeding is the main cause. 

Symptoms. 

Be careful not to get leg weakness and rheumatism 
confused for they work very much alike only in the form- 
er, the joints do not swell but they do in rheumatism. In 
leg-weakness the muscles will work to some disadvantage, 
the gait will be unsteady, and the bird will walk some few 
steps and then sit down as if tired. The first symptoms is 
a very slight weakness in the legs and would hardly be 
noticeable to a stranger but one accustomed to the flock 
will notice it readily. As the case developes the bird will 
be seen sitting down while eating. At this time the bird 
seems to be in perfect health only the weakness of the legs 
but in a few days the feathers will be standing on their 
ends, it is picked at by the rest of the flock, will not eat 
anything, and now it has a very bad looking appearance in- 
deed and will cause the owner a lot of worry. 
Treatment. 

Cut out the fat producing foods such as corn, corn 
meal etc., and place the bird in a coop away from the rest 
of the flock so as to keep them from running over the sick 
bird. Feed the rest of the flock only three times a day 
and do not feed them every time you go about them. See 
that they are not crowded on the roost. Feed cut clover and 
green food and if possible give them free range on a grassy 
and sunny range as nature intended them to do. Make them 
work for what you give them; exercise is a good remedy 
for leg-weakness for this will prevent them from getting so 
fat. In place of water give milk and feed bran, wheat and 
oatmeal. 

For the birds that have leg-weakness use the follow- 
ing; rub the legs with a tincture of arnica and place in the 
bird's drinking water a few drops of tincture of nux vomi- 
ca and place some meat meal in the morning mash. Da 
not feed corn until they are well again and then give it to 
them in small quantities with other grains. 

Remember that leg-weakness is brought on by over- 



JlND THEIR REMEDIES 23 

feeding and this can be helped or prevented by careful use 
of fat producing foods. It not only weakens the bird but 
will weaken the vitality in their off-spring. 

Rheumatism. 

This is a very annoying disease to the owner of fowls 
as well as to the fowls themselves and should be guarded 
against as much as possible. It will affect all parts of the 
body but the legs are the principle parts, in fact you no- 
tice it here first. Exposure to cold, damp, chilling winds 
aggravates this disorder. It may be produced by feeding 
too much animal matter and the under feeding of vege- 
table foods. Some say it is handed down from parent stock 
which were affected with it. I think this is true as well in 
fowls as in human beings. It is more likely to appear in 
the damp, chilly days of fall than at any other time of the 
year in both young and adult birds. 

Symptoms. 

The first symptom you notice is the jerky gait in 
walking and the tendency to squat upon the floor. The 
muscles will contract, joints will swell. The contracting of 
the muscles will draw the legs out of the regular position 
and in trying to straighten them will cause the bird great 
pain. It is the inflamation and pain in the muscles and 
joints to cause the bird to want to sit all the time. 

In some cases the bird will die very suddenly and 
without any cause apparently. Upon examination of the 
bird after death you will find a small sack covering the 
heart to be filled with a watery fluid. This is what 
causes the trouble, by disturbing greatly the action of the 
heart. Rheumatic troubles can also be traced back to a 
congested liver sometimes. 

Treatment. 

Bathe the swollen joints with weak alcohol twice a 
day for a week or rub with extract of witch hazel. For in- 
ternal treatment give fifteen grains of iodine of potassium 
in a quart of water, for both chicks and adult fowls. Or 
another good treatment is to give a dose of Epsom salts, 
twenty grains, and follow the next day with fifteen grains 
of bicarbonate of soda in each pint of their drinking wa- 
ter. Keep the affected birds from becoming exposed to 



24 POULTRY DISEASES 

cold, damp winds and do not let the houses and coops be- 
come damp or filthy for under such conditions you need 
not expect to keep the disease under headway. 

Feed an abundance of green food and do not forget to 
feed cut clover in the mash. If the trouble appears in the 
summer when there is plenty of green grass give them free 
range in the orchard cr pasture if possible. 

If the brooder chicks falls it prey you should keep the 
floor perfectly dry. Provide drinking fountains so they will 
not turn it over on the floor, keep the heat uniform un- 
der the hover and some facilities for scratching in order to 
get plenty of exercise. Give one feed which contains let- 
tuce, cabbage or some other green food and feed the other 
feed in the litter so as to make them work and get the ex- 
ercise they need to make them have the right health and 
vigor. Prevention is always the best cure. 

Broken Shanks. 

I think most every one that have fowls have had some 
experience with broken shanks. There is hardly a year 
passes that we do not have some chickens that meet with 
some accident and get some of their bones broken. They 
very often get fastened in a wire or picket fence and in 
trying to free themselves they break one or more bones. 
Some of the stock on the place often step on them and a 
break results. 

Treatment. 

Broken shanks are very easily to set and put together 
again and the younger the bird the quicker it will knit to- 
gether just the same as the human family. If the thigh 
or wing is broken there is no use to try to treat the bird 
for such treatments are very unsatisfactory and the pot is-, 
the best place for such cases. 

Breaks will unite very quickly if they are placed to- 
gether and kept there. The best splints for little chicks 
are common toothpicks but you will have to make larger 
and stronger ones for grown birds. Set the broken bones 
and place splints on them and wrap with cotton and tie 
so it will not come off. Place the birds in a coop away 
from the rest of the flock. Make three wraps with the- 
cotton next to the birds leg, then place the splints on, them 



AND THEIR REMFDIES 25 

finish wrapping with the cotton and sew well with needle 
and thread. 

This is all the treatment they will need and the band- 
age can be taken off in about two weeks. 

Scaly-Leg 

To a person who has never seen a case of scaly-leg, 
the name itself would give the novice at once an idea as to 
what the disease was, but I think most of us have seen this 
disease and know just how to take it. I believe most every 
one who has chickens has had some experience with it. 
Scaly-leg is no fatal disease by any means but it is a worry 
to the owner as well as disgusting. It is very annoying to 
nave your birds with such dirty, filthy looking legs, and 
the treatment and cure is so simple you could not afford 
to have your birds disgraced by it. 

Cause. 

It is caused by a small parasite and it is very contag- 
ious and after the first case appears in your flock, if you 
•do not begin at once to get rid of it you will be bothered 
with it very much and the first thing you know your whole 
flock will have it. It is passed from one bird to the other 
while they are on the roost or while the chicks are with the 
mother hen. Or it might possibly come from an infected 
house or brooder. Filth is a common cause. Where filth 
accumulates for a while scaly-leg is almost sure to appear. 

Symptoms. 

The legs have a very bad scaly looking appearanc?, 
they will be white looking and crusty and if you will re- 
move the scales and place them under a miscrope you will 
readily see the parasites or living organisms. The para- 
•site irritates the leg causing the scales to be pushed apart 
and dirt begins to accumulate which does not help the 
irritation any, and the trouble gets worse day by day until 
the legs will be as large as two in some cases. It is cer- 
tainly a very bad looking object to look on a bird with 
scaly leg. 

Treatment. 

As soon as you discover the disease in your flock you 
should begin on it at once. First get a bucket of warm 



26 POULTRY DISEASES 

water, some soap and a sponge. Place the bird in the pail 
and begin to soften the scales letting them soak in the 
water; after they get pretty well soaked take the bird out 
and with an old cloth wipe the legs dry. Now take about a 
half a cup full of lard and melt it. To this add three tea- 
spoonfuls of sulphur, six drops of creolin and mix thoro- 
ughly and apply to the legs. Now bandage this on with 
some cotton strips and strings so as to keep the ointment 
to the affected parts and you will get a much quicker 
cure. Let the bandages stay on the legs for about two 
days and you can remove them and apply again and still 
apply until you get a cure. You will not have to apply so 
often in mild cases. 

Another good remedy is to dissolve naphthalene flakes 
in kerosene and apply to the legs. Use all the naphthalene 
that the kerosene will dissolve. Be careful not to get the 
fluid on the tender skin for it might blister if you do. Af- 
ter dipping the birds legs in the fluid place the bird in a 
pen well filled with straw so it can begin to exercise at 
once or place in an out door run. It is best to treat the 
bird in the morning 'then there is no danger of the fluid 
getting on the feathers and soiling them when the bird 
gets on the roost. 

Use as many treatments as the disease requires; of 
course some cases will require more than others only as to 
the severity of the disease. Any of the above remedies 
will effect a permanent cure and give good satisfaction. 

Dropsy. 

Dropsy of the feet is generally caused by improper 
circulation of the blood. Either a congested liver or a 
tumor tends to hold back the circulation of the blood or' 
effects- it and when the least thing affects the circulation 
it will cause the legs and toes to increase in size. 

Treatment. 

Give the affected bird a dose or two of castor oil; 
this will generally help the trouble. Make the bird da 
more working after the feed you give and this will stimu- 
late the functions of the entire body. Brooder chicks that 
have dropsy should be made to exercise after all the food 
they get. Place chaff or cut straw on the brooder floor 



AND THEIR REMFDIES 



27 



and make them work for it. Overfeeding without any ex- 
ercise is the main cause of dropsy in brooder chicks. 

Cramps. 

This disease is something on the order of Leg-weak-, 
ness only cramps will affect small chicks while the former 
will affect half grown chicks and fowls. The common 
cause is over-crowding; but over-heating, and not enough 
exercise will cause it. 

Treatment. 

The treatment is very simple. Have larger brooders 
or cut down the size of the flock in proportion, make them 
take more exercise, and keep the temperature at a uniform 
heat so they will spread out on the floor and not pile up 
together. Exercise will go a long ways towards prevent- 
ing cramps. 




28 



<POUL TR Y DISEASES 




AND THEIR REMEDIES 29 



CHAPTER IV. 



HEAD, THROAT AND NASAL PASS- 
AGES 



Roup. 



Its Cause, Symptoms and Treatment — How to Prevent It — 
With Remedies that Will Prove Effective. 

This disease is one of the oldest diseases known to 
affect poultry and it seems as though most everyone 
should be very familiar with it, but I am sorry to say they 
are not. Many people have the wrong idea of roup; they 
think every bird that has "frothy eyes and a running dis- 
charge from nostrils" has roup; in fact this name has been 
given to all diseases that show the above symptoms. There 
are many diseases that affect poultry that work very much 
like roup but they a^e different diseases altogether. Roup 
is very easily detected frcm colds, diphtheria, grippe, etc., 
for the simple reason the "roupy" smell is not present in 
any of the above diseases. There is but one disease that 
has a right to be called roup and after a little experie^- 
you can easily detect it from the others. After you once 
get the opportunity to handle the birds with roup you will 
never forget the "roupy" smell that is present in all cases. 
If you ever get the opportunity to have two birds together, 
one with roup and the other with a common cold you 
should examine them closely and you will find the differ- 
ence between the two; and you will always know after this. 
I wish every person who raises poultry could study the dif- 
ferent diseases, I know they would soon learn to like it 
and in a little while would know how to treat them proper- 



30 "POULTRY DISEASES 

ly. This is one great trouble with most people they can- 
not diagnose a case. 

Roup is probably one of the greatest hinderances in 
the poultry business; and if nothing is done to prevent and 
cure it after it breaks out in a flock of birds there is cer- 
tain to be a great loss from it. In some flocks it may not 
kill but only a few birds while in another it will kill the 
greater portion of it. The direct losses from the disease 
will vary greatly in different epidemics, and the severity 
of the disease depends on the condition the flock is in when 
it first breaks out. 

As I said above that all poultry ailments that are ac- 
companied with "frothy eyes and a running discharge from 
the nostrils" has been termed roup. All colds will have 
these symptoms, also diphtheria, grippe, etc., but remember 
all colds are not roup by any means. Fowls are subject to 
colds just the same as ourselves and are not any more 
dangerous if taken in time. Of course, colds may develop 
into roup if they are allowed to run their course, but we 
should begin treating them immediately as scon as we find 
such cases in our flocks. 

A bird that has roup is very slow to recover and will 
never be the same any more. For the bacteria that is al- 
ways present in roup seems to be in the bird's system all 
the time. They are unfit for fattening, breeding and egg 
production. They remain thin although they Will eat just 
as much as any other member of the flock and are living 
at the expense of their keeper. The disease is very con- 
tagious but more so in some flocks than others, all cases 
should be regarded dangerous whether they be mild or 
serious for some of the worst cases that have come under 
my observation in the past years originated from very mild 
cases. In large flocks especially those on the farm the 
death rate is not noticed so much as in a small flock. 
Roup if taken at once after it makes its appearance in your 
flock will not amount to very much, but if you let it run 
on you are almost sure to have a great loss. 

Roup Likely to Appear at Any Time. 

Roup is in "season" twelve months in the year, it will 
come in the warm summer days but you are more likely to 
have it during the late fall months and winter than at any 



AND THEIR REMEDIES 31 

other time. The frosty days of the early spring will also 
help develop some cases. But most cases will make their 
appearance during cold, damp, dark days of fall and 
winter. 

Cases that break out during warm weather come from 
old germs that are present and the fowls get them either 
from drinking vessels, an old coop, or house that was used 
for sick birds and has not been disinfected or the germs 
killed. But in winter or fall the first case develops from 
a very bad cold or case of grippe or influenza. Remember 
that roup is in season at all seasons of the year and can 
cause you quite a lot of trouble if steps are not taken to 
check same before it gets any headway. 

Cause. 

Since the fresh-air poultry house has come into gen- 
eral use all over the country I think this has made quite a 
change in roup. There are not so many cases where these 
houses are used as were the old style tight houses was 
used before. Improper ventilation is a very common cause 
of roup or colds; of course most cases of roup first come 
from a bad cold; the glands of the head become affected 
and run a watery fluid which later on as the disease de- 
velops gets thick and purulent and full of bacteria or germs 
and from this it is scattered through the whole flock. 
These germs seem to get into the air and as soon as you go 
into the house where a bird is with roup you can smell 
the "roupy smell" for many feet off. Often roup is spread 
by letting the bird with roup drink from the same vessel 
the well ones do, roosting in the same house and on the 
same roost and in fact it is very contagious and all precau- 
tions should be used to keep the disease from spreading. 

Many people have their houses constructed on the 
fresh-air plan and give their fowls the best of food and 
care, still they are troubled with this disease and they are 
unable to trace it as to where it comes from. It is one of 
the most infectious diseases known and it can be traced 
to many different origins. Sometimes when you purchase 
new breeding stock you get it from other breeders' yards. 
It is also contracted in the show room or from an infected 
coop or other utensil. It is said that these germs can be 
carried by the wind for miles while it is in its dry stage and 



12 "POULTRY DISEASES 

you are unable to account for it. Also many times fowls 
will have roup without any indication of a cold, this is 
more proof that it is a germ disease. These germs live on 
and in the mucous membrane of the throat and of course 
they are continually throwing these germs off and as they 
dry they are carried by the wind and are breath^, by well 
birds and lodge in the throat, nostrils and eyes of well birds 
and multiply rapidly and before you think what has hap- 
pened your bird will have a very bad case of roup and you 
can't possibly account for it. 

Symptoms. 

At first the bird will seem to have a slight cold, the 
eyes will water, the nostrils will have a watery discharge, 
the face will be very hot and feverish but the body will 
not show any signs of fever and the temperature will be 
about normal. The liquid that runs from the eyes and 
nostrils will be thin and watery, later turning a grey color 
which turns a yellowish color and gets hard. If this cheesy 
matter stays in the eye it will sometimes cause the eye to 
go out or move from its socket. The bird seems to want 
to isolate itself from the rest of the flock and will be found 
over in the other corner of the building by itself. Its gait 
will be very unsteady, the feathers will be standing on 
their ends and the poor bird is certainly a hard looking 
proposition. 

The roof of the mouth or throat will become filled 
with a hard cheesy matter which will be of a very offensive 
smell. You can remove these cheesy growth every day and 
they will be back again by the next day in most cases. Now 
the bird will be very thin and will not eat anything at all. 
When the bird first takes sick it will be healthy and in 
good shape and in two or three days afterwards it will be 
nothing but skin and bones. Roup will certainly make 
great changes in a very short time. 

When the bird seems to be breathing with great dif- 
ficulties if you will open the bird's throat and look in you 
will see that the mouth and throat is nearly closed with 
the hard cheesy growths and it is the air passing through 
the throat that causes these loud noises. In some cases the 
throat will close up from these growths and the bird will 
then die from suffication. 



AND THEIR REMEDIES 3 J 

These growths will also extend into the nostrils and 
■eyes and cause the head and face to swell. In later stages 
the comb will turn dark, and the bird will be so weak it 
can not stand alone. Now the bird will not last long un- 
less it is a chronic case, if it is it will live for some time. 
In these advanced stages you cannot expect a bird to get 
well at once for there never was a bird with a bad case of 
roup that got well at all. Now if it is a mild case you can 
possibly cure it so it will never show but where the case is: 
very bad you will never get the bird entirely well. Fowls 
that seem apparently well at times will show it at other 
times.- They will never be permanently cured. If it takes 
a least bit of cold roup will appear again. It will also show 
in chicks that were hatched from "roupy" birds; it may 
not show until they get about grown but it is nearly cer- 
tain to then. It is not a good idea to breed from a bird 
that has ever had roup or any other bad disease for it will 
evedently show in their offspring. 

Remember that all colds, grippe and diphtheria are 
not roup: if the roup smell is not present it is not roup, 
after you have a case or two to come under your observa- 
tion you can detect it all right then. These germs seem 
to poison the whole body of the bird and it will take at 
least six months to get these germs or bacteria from the 
system of the bird if you do then. Some claim that it can 
be cured but I have my first real bad case of roup yet to 
see that was cured even after twelve months' time. Pre- 
ventation is always the best cure and is the "cure" or treat- 
ment we should use mostly. 

Treatment. 

Unless the bird is very valuable the best thing to do 
is to kill it as soon as the disease is recognized; and burn 
the body immediately. Then begin to clean up the prem- 
ises thoroughly and try to locate the cause if possible. If 
you wish to treat the affected birds you must isolate them. 
It is best to have a pest house just as far away from the- 
rest of the flock as possible to have it. Use a good dis- 
infectant about the house and yards, clean everything 
thoroughly, remove the old droppings from the boards, 
clean the old litter from the floor and replace with new, 



34 POULTRY DISEASES 

make new nests, etc., in fact, clean everything that can be 
cleaned, and do not leave anything undone. 

Do not keep sick birds moping around to infect others. 
You can not expect to get rid of the trouble unless you 
work with it with determination. It is not a good policy 
to waste three dollars worth of medicine on a dollar bird. 
Don't wait for the first case to appear but try to stamp it 
out as soon as you notice the first symptom. In isolating 
the. sick birds it is better to remove the well birds to new 
quarters than to remove the sick but leave the affected 
bird in the old quarters. The quarters occupied by the well 
fowls should be disinfected well with a good strong disin- 
fectant and place a bucket of water before them to which 
about one teaspoonful of creolin has been added and do not 
let them have any other water to drink. Keep the house 
and yards sanitary at all times and this will be half the 
battle for if you have them filthy you will have a harder 
fight to make. 

In treating the affected birds you should place them 
in a dry, well ventilated coop well filled with clean straw 
and change the bedding every other day so as to keep the 
coop from getting filthy. Remove the discharge from the 
nostrils by pressing downward on them. This discharge 
will become hard after two or three days if allowed to 
stay there any length of time. You can dry up this dis- 
charge by using a 5 per cent solution of creolin and 
water. Bathe the eyes and face with it twice a day until 
it dries up. You can also cleanse the parts with dioxygen 
daily and this will help keep the trouble under headway. 
Apply the dioxygen until it ceases to foam then apply creo- 
lin solution. While using these treatments you must give 
the bird a one grain pill of quinine every night and morn- 
ing. 

If these yellowish scabs appear in the mouth or throat 
you can remove them and apply dioxygen to the sores until 
it ceases to foam , then with a swab apply pure creolin to 
them. Remove them as long as they appear and treat as 
directed above. Place a few drops of nux vomica in the 
bird's drinking water as a tonic for this will help strength- 
en the bird. Be with the bird as much as possible for if 
you give it good attention you will get a much better and 
quicker recovery. 



AND THEIR REMEDIES 35 

There are many good remedies on the market for roup 
and I think any of them will give you good satisfaction but 
I will give you some very common treatments below and I 
think any of them will give good results. It seems as 
though every person has his own treatment so below you 
will find a number of good simple reliable remedies. 

With a small blow gun or tube blow boracic acid in 
the throat and nostrils of the sick bird. Repeat this opera- 
tion twice a day until the bird is well. This is said to be 
a sure cure. 

Take equal parts of sulphate of iron and Hyposulphite 
of soda and give each bird affected four grains a day in 
their drinking water. If the bird is too far gone to drink 
or eat you will have to feed by hand. 

Chlorate of potash 9 parts, permanganate of potas- 
sium one part. Place a teaspoonful in a gallon of drinking 
water for the sick bird. Hightly recommended. 

Dr. Wood's favorite roup tablet is Aconite, Bryonia 
and Spongia Compound. 1-100 grain each. One tablet 
three times a day. Or if given in drinking water give 
twelve tablets in each pint of water. 

In preventing or treating roup there is nothing bet- 
ter than to take a bucket of water and pour about one- 
half pint of kerosene in it and dip the heads under and 
leave there long enough to count four then remove and 
wipe dry with soft cloth. Repeat this every day until well 
and do not let them have any water to drink only that 
which has kerosene in it. 

The diet in roup should be simple. Feed plenty of 
green food and make the mash at least one-half clover. Do 
not feed any grain but give mash or something that will 
tempt their appetite for they need it. Feed some mineral 
matter, a few pieces of meat will be good for them and 
will tempt their appetites. Watch the bird close and if 
you do not see any change in three days you should kill 
and cremate, for it will never be any better. The houses 
and coops should be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected 
every second day. Good sanitary quarters are the very 
best preventatives for roup. See that your house has no 
draughts in it. 

Croup. 

Croup may be classed with common colds and they 



36 POULTRY DISEASES 

work very much alike. There is no germ present as in 
roup. Croup is a catarrhal information of the upper portion 
of the windpipe. It may be caused from a common cold or 
by inhaling irritating dust or vapor. Most of the diseases 
that affect the head, throat and nasal passages originates 
from filthy and dusty houses. Clean the houses often and 
avoid this trouble. 

Symptoms. 

The symptoms of croup are about the same as those 
with a cold, only the bird breaths with great difficulty; the 
neck will be stretched far out from the body with mouth 
open in effort to breath. The comb, face and wattels will 
be purplish which is a good sign the bird is breathing with 
difficulty. If you will catch the bird and open its mouth 
you will soon discover the mucous membrane of the throat 
to be swollen near the upper part of the windpipe. In 
most cases there will be a great rattling in the throat when 
the bird is breathing. The symptoms most generally ap- 
pear suddenly when the bird seems entirely well. The 
mouth and throat of the bird will be inflamed quite a lot 
during the attack. 

Treatment. 

Place the bird in a dry, well ventilated coop well bed- 
ded with clean straw. If the bird is breathing with much 
difficulty you can help it if you will take a woolen cloth 
and wring it out of icy water and wrap about the throat. 
After the bird seems to be better take an atomiser and 
make a fifty per cent solution of dioxygen and 
water and blow into the throat and windpipe. Repeat this 
several times during a day. A few drops of kerosene will 
in most cases prove very effective. If after these treat- 
ments the bird is no better and is still breathing hard you 
can give a tablet of Arsenite of antimony 1-1000 of a drug 
strength each every nighl and morning until the bird is 
entirely well. 

Another remedy is to take a gallon of water and add 
a teaspoonful of creolin and boil it and let the bird inhale 
the steam from the kettle. Let the bird inhale this for ten 
or fifteen minutes twice a day. 

Common Colds. 

Fowls that have the best of care are liable to contract 



AND THEIR REMEDIES 37 

common colds during the winter season when the cold 
blustry winds are present. These common catarrhal colds 
will not amount to much if they are begun on in time and 
not let run on until they develop into something of a more 
serious nature. Roup, canker etc. are liable to develop 
from a simple cold if allowed to have its own course. Im- 
proper ventilation is a common cause of colds and especi- 
ally if fowls are allowed to crowd up and become over- 
heated and when they are let out in the morning they con- 
tract a cold. If you will use the fresh air poultry house 
you will not be troubled with cold so much for if fowls are 
kept in houses that are well ventilated they will not take 
cold so easy when let out in the morning. 

In the fall when there is a cold rain with chilly wind 
this will cause the birds to contract colds especially young 
stock. Do not close the houses too tight early in the sea- 
son but try to keep the birds used to cold weather. Avoid 
draughts especially while the birds are on the roost; also 
artificial heat in the poultry house for it is not practical. 
Sudden atmospheric changes is also a common cause of 
colds. 

Symptoms. 
Young stock are more apt to have colds during the 
fall and winter than old birds. The first symptoms you 
notice is a few bubbles in the eyes and a watery discharge 
from the nostrils. The bird will not lose any flesh at all 
and will eat and seem to be in a healthy condition only for 
the discharges from the eyes and nostrils. If there is on 
odor present it is not roup but if there is a bad odor there 
it is roup instead of colds. 

Treatment. 
In treating common colds the first thing to do is to 
try to locate the cause and prevent any further spread of 
it. Air the house well daily; if you have been in the habit 
of closing it tight every night do not do It but open the 
windows and doors and let the birds have plenty of fresh 
air to breathe. Avoid damp dropping boards by keeping 
them cleaned every day. Do not allow a draught to pass 
over the birds while they are on the roost. Keep them 
housed close and do not let them out until they are entire- 
ly well. 



38 POULTRY DISEASES 

For individual treatment there is nothing better than 
quinine. It will break up a very bad case of cold in from 
two to four days. As soon as you notice the bird sick re- 
move it to a coop from the rest of the flock and give it a 
one grain pill of quinine every night and morning until the 
bird is entirely well. If the watery discharge gets thick 
and purulent cleanse it out with dioxygen once a day. Ac- 
onite bryonia and spongia mixture is another good remedy. 
Give a teaspoonful of the following in a quart of water, ten 
drops of the tincture of each in an ounce of alcohol. 

Sulphate of iron and hyposulphite of soda equal parts. 
To each sick bird give four grains a day in a quart of its 
drinking water. Colds are very easy to handle if taken in 
time. The best way to do is to remove the cause for there 
is always something that is causing it. Study everything 
well and try to locate it if possible. 

Diphtheria. 

Tbis is another very contagious disease and works very 
much like roup; there is much difference in opinions as 
to whether this disease is caused by roup germs or original 
diphtheria germs. Both work very much and in fact are 
about the same only in diphtheria the "roupy" smell is 
not present as in roup. While there is always a bad odor 
present in diphtheria still it is not like the "roupy" smell 
and is very easily distinguished from the old "roupy" smell. 
The two diseases may co-exist and it is very hard to deter- 
mine just where one leaves off.. We could enter upon a 
very lengthy discussion of these two diseases and still I do 
not think it would be of any practical value to the poultry- 
man, so we will not take it up but try to give you informa- 
tion that will help you distinguish the two after a little 
practical experience. 

In general appearance and effects it is about the same 
as human diphtheria but I do not think it has the same 
germ, although there are cases on record where fowls con- 
tracted diphtheria from children and children from fowls 
but still I do not think the germs are the same. It will 
therefore, be understood that it is very contagious and 
dangerous. 

Symptoms. 

Dipththeria will strike a bird suddenly, in the morning 



AND THEIR REMEDIES 39 

the bird will seem perfectly well and in good health, at 
night it will not eat and appear dumpish and will try to 
isolate itself from the rest of the flock and will be found 
over in some dark corner by itself. The feathers will 
look rough, the wings will be drooped and upon examining 
the bird you will find a very high fever, the comb will be 
a bright red and after a day or so it will be a dark color. 
You frequently find a bird with a piping cough or heavy 
breathing; this is caused from the mucous that is in the 
throat. Some cases the mucous will close the throat and 
cause the bird to die from suffication. If you will examine 
the throat you will find it red and very much inflamed, 
later small white speck will appear, on the inside of throat 
and on the tongue or near the cleft of the palate. These 
small specks or patches grow very fast and will run to- 
gether and seem to cover the whole mouth or throat. If 
you make any attempt to remove these patches you will 
cause much bleeding and will leave a raw surface. These 
patches can extend down into the windpipe and cause the 
bird to die from suffication. They will also get into the 
eyes and nasal passages and cause swollen face and eyes. 
If you remove these patches and they come away 
without any bleeding and does not leave a raw surface your 
bird hasn't diphtheria. This is another way to tell it from 
roup. When diphtheria once gets into your flock it is 
very hard to break up or overcome. The early symptoms 
are about the \ same as those of roup. It will attack turkeys 
ducks and pigeons as well as chickens. 

Treatment. 

Remove the bird at once from the rest of the flock. 
Disinfect well the house, yards, etc., with a good reliable 
disinfectant, (any of the coal tar products are good) and 
begin individual treatment, for this is the only satisfactory 
way to handle this trouble.. With a small blow gun or glass 
tube blow some powdered sulphur in the bird's throat. 
Open the mouth so you can see where the inflamation is 
and get the sulphur right on the raw surfaces Repeat 
this twice a day, night and morning. If the membrane is 
yellow and tough it is a good idea to make a swab with a 
piece of cotton and apply pure creolin to them. 

Dixoygen will also be found very good when applied 



40 POULTRY DISEASES 

to the membranes. Apply twice a day and as long as it 
continues to foam. Mix thoroughly a grain or permangan- 
ate of potassium with an ounce of fine powdered sugar and 
blow this into the bird's throat three times a day. Con- 
tinue same until the bird is entirely well. I think this will 
be found a good remedy. It is well to give the bird a good 
tonic while sick about ten drops of nux vomica in a quart 
of water will be found good. Feed good wholesome food 
and some that will be easily digested. 

Canker. 

This is a disease that will appear in all seasons of 
the year but is found more during the fall, winter and 
early spring than at any other time. It usually fastens on 
the strongest and most vigorous birds in the flock and this 
is one thing that makes it seem so strange. It is slightly 
contagious some epidemics more so that others. It is well 
to isolate all birds affected for you have much better 
chance to treat them. Canker sores or patches will ap- 
pear on any part of the mucous membrane of the mouth 
and will some times appear in the eyes which causes the 
bird to lose its sight. 

Cause. 

There has been much discussion as to what causes 
this disease; it is my opinion that it is some germ which 
"belongs to this certain disease. It is also claimed by good 
authorities that dusty, mouldy grains and food will cause 
it. The musty food gets the digestive organs out of con- 
dition and the trouble breaks out in the mouth and throat; 
we know when our stomach gets wrong sores will come in 
our throat and mouth, so this is very good reasoning I 
think. After two male birds have been fighting canker will 
appear, in early stages it is nothing more than pus but it 
later develcpcs into a cheesy growth. It may come from 
an old attack of roup. 

Symptoms. 

The first symptom you notice is the small patches that 
appear in the mouth and throat, and you do not notice this 
as a general thing until the bird shows much difficulty in 
eating. The neck in some cases especially where the attack 
is a bad one, will be stiff. These cheesy growths will ap- 



AND THEIR REMEDIES 41 

pear on any portion of the mucous membrane and some- 
times will be on the opening of the windpipe and then there 
will be much difficulty in breathing. These growths are 
very tough but can be easily removed with some instru- 
ment without much bleeding. 

Treatment. 

Equal parts of burnt alum and boracic acid applied to 
canker sores will prove effective in most cases. Apply it 
several times a day; place the bird in a good dry coop away 
from the other birds and feed on soft food for a few days. 
Change the water twice a day. If a few drops of nux vom- 
ica or tincture chloride of iron five drops to each pint of 
water, is added, it will be a good tonic. Dioxygen applied 
to the sores will destroy the germs or bacteria that are 
present. 

Treating them with the creolin solution will also be 
found satisfactory. Take a piece of cotton and twist on a 
small stick and dip in a 50 per cent solution of creolin and 
water and apply to the canker sores three times a day. 
While giving these local treatments it will be well to give 
each bird affected one tablet three times a day until the 
bird is well, containing 1-1000 of a grain of mercury proti- 
odide. If the bird gets very thin and weak it will be a 
good idea to kill it for it will not amount to much as a 
breeder or egg producer any more, even if it gets well for 
its vitality will be somewhat weakened. 

Pip. 

Pip is a disease that works on the mucous membrane 
of the mouth. It is the hardening of the tip of the tongue. 
The tip will get real hard and scaly. There is some other 
trouble back of this, for pip is no disease itself but only a 
symptom of another disease. The general belief is that it 
is caused by rapid breathing through the mouth instead of 
the nostrils. The tongue is in a dry state and if you would 
remove the tip on it you would find it would bleed. Do 
not remove it but try to soften it and get it back to normal 
conditions if possible. 

Treatment. 

In treating this trouble you should study the conditions 
of the bird and try to locate the trouble that is back of it. 



42 <POUL TR Y DISEASES 

Do not remove the dry tip of the tongue for you will not 
accomplish any gcod results if you do. It will harm the 
bird more than it will do good. If you will paint the 
tongue with glycerine three times a day it will help the 
diseased organ to recover its normal conditions. If you 
notice a bird in your flock pick up a grain of corn and then 
throw it down again you should make investigation im- 
mediately, this is a symptom of pip. To treat a whole 
flock you can give a tablespoonful of Epsom salts in a quart 
of water and this will straighten them out alright. Feed 
the bird en mashes to which some cut clover has been ad- 
ded. A few drops of mix vomica will also be very helpfuL 
in restoring the bird to its normal condition again. 
Influenza or "firippe." 

This disease will appear in any season of the year and 
in any climate, it resembles roup very much and may ap- 
pear with it. It is a very contagious disease and you 
should use great effort in trying to keep it from spreading" 
as much as possible. Grippe will appear in many forms 
and one particular one is a roupy cold without the roup- 
odor or smell. 

Cause. 

This trouble generally appears in winter or fall and 
it is believed that bad hygiene with unsanitary surround- 
ings, cold winds and anything that will tend to weaken, 
the bird will cause it. It is no doubt caused by a germ 
which makes it so contagious. When "grippe" breaks out 
in our families you always notice it will generally go 
through the entire family before it checks. No doubt it is:- 
very contagious. 

Symptoms. 

The bird generally begins to shiver or tremble first 
and will sneeze a great deal, as if taking a sudden cold- 
The eyes will run a watery discharge. There will be a thin 
greenish diarrohea, the eyes will swell, the comb and legs 
will be very hot, the throat will be red and inflamed but 
there will be no patches present. The bird will be very 
thirsty and the breath may be of a very bad odor but there 
is no roupy smell present. 

Treatment. 

Place the bird in a coop away from the other birds 



AND THEIR REMFDIES 43 

and begin to give it a pill of quinine containing one grain, 
every night and morning until the bird begins to improve 
then give only one pill a day. While using quinine it will 
be well to cleanse the throat, nostrils, etc. out with di- 
oxygen at least twice a day. A creolin solution will also 
prove very effective in most cases; about a teaspoonful of 
creolin in a pint of water. Keep the bird in a well venti- 
lated coop that is free from draughts, have good dry litter 
and clean every day, do not let it become damp. Feed the 
bird on good wholesome food and do not let the bird con- 
tract another cold for the second attack will appear. 

Conjunctivitis or Eye Troubles. 

Conjunctivitis is a disease that affects the mucous 
membrane of the eye s and it is very contagious and is 
accompanied by the rapid development of cheesy growths 
which will cause much pain to the bird. It is caused from 
a germ which originates from musty or mouldy food and 
litter, exposure to cold winds and rains. Some years ago 
I was using some chaff from the stable loft as litter in one 
of my brooders, it was very dusty and perhaps mouldy, 
before I realized what had taken place the whole bunch of 
chickens had a very bad case of eye trouble, the eyes were 
watery which would later get purulent and the lids would 
adhere to each other. This trouble no doubt was caused 
by using this dusty litter in the brooder. This trouble can 
also be caused from some foreign body getting into the 
eye which causes inflammation to set in. Mild cases will 
need no medical treatment but will get well spontaneously 
after the disease has run for several days. 
Symptoms. 
The first symptom that is noticed is the fowl keeping 
the eye closed most of the time. It seems as though the 
light is very painful to the bird. The lids will adhere to 
each other, the growths will appear beneath the eye you 
will often see the bird picking or scratching the eye with 
its toes. On the wings near the shoulder you will find 
crusts of this yellowish matter from where the bird has 
been rubbing. The bird will have no appetite in real bad 
cases and will be thin and dumpish. 
Treatment. 
Clean the houses and coops thoroughly and keep the 



44 POULTRY DISEASES 

affected birds in clean well aired quarters. Bathe the eye 
in 25 per cent solution of boracic acid and water, three 
times a day. If there are any yellowish growths below the 
eye remove them by gentle pressure; usually after they are 
removed once they will never appear any more. If this 
growth is allowed to remain it will likely cause the eye 
to go out. After removing this growth you should anoint 
the eyes with the following: A two per cent creolin oint- 
ment made with vaseline. 

Another good remedy is to bathe the eyes with a 50 
per cent solution of dioxygen and water twice a day; diox- 
ygen will destroy all germ s that are present. Feed the bird 
well while convalescent and remember it is much easier 
to prevent a disease than to cure it. Try to locate the 
trouble that causes this conjunctivitis or eye trouble. 

GAPES. 

A Disease that Kills Thousands of Small Chicks Annually 

and One That Has Been Prevalent Among Poultry For 

More than 100 Years. Its Cause, Symptoms, and 

Treatment and How to Prevent It. 

Gapes is one of the oldest diseases know to effect 
poultry and has been prevalent among fowls for more than 
100 years. Perhaps there is no other poultry disease that 
has caused so much trouble or excited as much interest as 
Gapes. Back in the early part of the Eighteenth Century 
there was much discussion as to what caused gapes and it 
was quite a while before they decided it was due to a small 
gape worm that takes up its abode in the windpipe of the 
fowl. Gapes most frequently makes its appearance among 
little chicks but old fowls have been known to have these 
worms also and they are not exempt from them by any 
means. 

Gapes is strictly a parasitic disease and is caused by a 
small gape worm which is called Synganus Trachealis. 
These worms attach themselves to the linings of the wind- 
pipe and the severity of the disease is governed by the num- 
ber of worms that are present. When gapes appear in a 
flock you will always notice it is in the early spring and in 
damp weather. A real young chick can not stand the at- 
tack as well as other birds. When they are present in large 
numbers they'll suck the blood from the tissues and cause 



J1ND THEIR REMEDIES 45 

much inflammation of the mucous membrane. These para- 
sites vary in size from one-eighth to one-half inch long and 
the circumferance of their body will be be about the size 
of a very fine needle. In early stages their bodies are of 
a very light color but later when they are full of blood they 
are of a bright red in fact their color is determined by the 
amout of blood they have taken from the fowl. 

When they increase in number they will obstruct the 
opening of the windpipe and cause the fowl to "gape" for 
breath and this is where the disease first took its name. 
In real bad cases the irritation and larger number of worms 
that are in the throat causes the bird to strangle to death, 
especially in very young chicks. The worms have very lit- 
tle effect on the older chick or adult bird but they will 
prove a source of infection for the rest of the flock if al- 
lowed to go unmolested. 

The worst time for these parasites to appear in a 
flock of chicks is when they are from one to four weeks 
old; they are too young then to stand the loss of blood due 
to these worms. If you open a chick's windpipe after it has 
died from gapes a number of queer little worms will be 
found; they seem to have two heads and are shaped very 
much like the letter Y. This is two worms though, the 
male and female worm and they are closely united for 
breeding. While they are in this position the female de- 
velopes her eggs and the male fertilizes them. 

Where Do These Worms Originate? 

It is claimed by good authorities that these gape 
worms originate from the common earth worms and garden 
slugs; they are eaten by fowls and then while swallowing, 
some of the eggs or embro gape worms lodge in the throat 
and windpipe and the disease starts in this manner. Then 
of course some are passed from the fowl in the droppings 
and the ground will become contaminated in this manner. 
After the earth once gets full of them it is a hard matter 
to get them out any more and the only thing to do is to 
cultivate the ground and do not let the birds have it for 
their run for at least two years afterwards. 

The female worm does not lay the eggs singly as it 
would be supposed but will not lay them at all, she will 
hold them until there are perhaps several thousand then 



46 POULTRY DISEASES 

they are passed from the female worm through some 
puncture of her body. It is in this manner they are de- 
posited in the drinking vessel and passed from the birds 
in the droppings to well birds and this is the way the 
disease spreads. Birds often cough up these eggs and 
worms for you know a cough is always present with gapes 
so you see how easy it is to scatter this disease over a lot 
of ground and hence to healthy chicks. 

Many of the embro worms and eggs are eaten but very 
few of them will find their way into the windpipe and of 
course they are passed out with the droppings and prove 
another source of infection, for the well birds, often one 
single worm will cause you a whole lot of trouble and 
cause the entire flock to become infested with gapes. 
Gapes will appear among wild birds as well as domestic and 
it is thought that while they are flying over your poultry 
yard they will expell their droppings and in this manner 
your entire flock will become infested with this deadly dis- 
ease. 

Symptoms. 

You rarely ever know your chicks have gapes until 
you notice some of them gaping, and sometimes a slight 
cough will be present in the early stages of the attack. 
There is great difficulty in swallowing, breathing, etc. 
The bird will be weak and will not be able to follow the 
rest of the flock; the wings will be drooped and a slight 
discharge of mucous and worms in some of the worst 
cases. The symptoms of gapes is very much like bronchitis 
and pneumonia and to make sure you are right before you 
begin treating the birds it is well to make a post-mortem 
examination by cutting the windpipe lengthwise and ex- 
amining the linings of the windpipe thoroughly and if 
there are worms present they will be seen easily with a 
magnifying glass. In gapes there is not fever but in the 
above diseases there is always a fever present. 

Treatment. 

When gapes first makes its appearance in a flock the 
best thing to do is to remove all birds affected from the 
other birds and place them in coops by themselves. Take 
a gallon of water and add one teaspoonful of creolin and 



AND THEIR REMEDIES 47 

this will be a good preventative and will cure some of the 
worst cases. A bad case of gapes came under my observa- 
tion a few years ago and as an experiment I gave it some 
water to which a few drops of creolin had been added and 
in a few days the chick was well and free from gapes. And 
this proved to me that creolin was one of the best drugs 
to use in treating and preventing gapes. A strong creolin 
solution will also make a good disinfectant to use in the 
yards where they have been running. Spray the entire 
surface of the yard with it and then scatter some air slack- 
ed lime over it. If you have no sprayer take a good 
sprinkler and use instead. Still better if you can do it, is 
to move every bird old and young from the old run and 
have a new one ready for them and plow the old run up 
and plant in something so you can cultivate it for about 
two years. This is the only safe way to get the gape worms 
or germs out of the ground. They will stay in the ground 
for years if nothing is done to exterminate them. 

Air the brooders and coops daily and do not let them 
roost on the ground or anywhere, where it is damp. Wash 
all drinking vessels out daily with scalding water and place 
a few drops of carbolic acid in them. Burn all birds that 
die and all worms that have been extracted from their 
windpipes. Spray the yard at least twice a week with the 
two per cent creolin solution and use all effort to try to 
keep the trouble under headway. If you remove the birds 
to new runs and place a few drops of creolin in their drink- 
ing water I think you will be able to handle the disease 
all right. A small piece of copperas in the drinking water 
Is said to be a good preventative by good authorities. 

Some Simple Means of Removing the Worms. 

There are many simple ways to get the worms out of 
the bird's windpipe and we all know we must get them 
away in order to affect a cure. Lime dust is a very simple 
and sure remedy and no doubt one of the most satisfactory. 
Make a box as large as you want to and place your chicks 
in it and place a piece of burlap over it and sift air slacked 
lime over the chicks and this will make them cough up the 
worms. The lime irritates the linings of the windpipe 
and also some of the finer tubes of the chest and its use 
Is followed by much coughing and sneezing which dislocates 



48 POULTRY DISEASES 

the worms and cause them to be coughed up. Do not let 
the chicks stay in the box long enough to kill them, you 
can regulate the time by your own judgment. Plenty of 
fresh air must be supplied while they are undergoing the 
treatment or else you will kill them or cause a serious in- 
flammation of the mucous membrane of the throat and 
windpipe. 

Another good way to extract the gape worms from the 
windpipe is by using a horse hair, wire gape worm extract- 
or or a feather. This is done by placing them in the wind- 
pipe and with a little twisting turn draw it out. The ob- 
ject being is to detach the worms and draw them out. It 
is well to dip the extracter into creolin solution before and 
after it has been used. In treating birds in this manner the 
operator should sit in a comfortable position where he has 
a good light and everything he needs in reach of him. Have 
one box for the chickens that have never been treated and 
one for the ones that he has treated. Be steady and keep 
your head, you may kill several at first but you will soon 
get onto it and be able to treat them with ease and surity. 

By having a split bottom basket and placing the chicks 
in it, and by swinging it through sulphur fumes several 
times you can kill the gape worms in this manner, but be 
careful and do not over do it. 

The camphor remedy is also good. Catch each bird 
affected and place a piece of camphor down its throat 
about the size of a grain of wheat and you will have no 
more gape worms, it is certainly a good satisfactory cure. 

Scatter plenty of air slacked lime over your runs and 
you will find this a good preventative for this dreaded dis- 
ease. If you will keep the chicks in disinfected runs un- 
til they get three months old you can let them have more 
liberty for the most of the danger is over then. Keep the 
coops dry and sanitary and do not let them get filthy; 
keep your chicks roosting on boards this will also' help pre- 
vent the trouble. Every little thing you can do will help 
keep this dread disease under headway. Remember it is 
always much easier to prevent disease than it is to cure it. 

Apoplexy. 

As a general thing this disease appears in pullets that 
are too fat, although it will affect old hens and male birds: 



AND THEIR REMEDIES 49 

to some extent but nothing like the former. Apoplexy is 
the result of a ruptured blood vessel of the brain and the 
pressure of blood which escapes from same. The main 
cause of the trouble is caused from feeding stimulating 
foods in too large quantities and the result is over fat 
birds. Pullets in laying their first eggs will some times 
strain and in doing this they will rupture a blood vessel 
of the brain and the result is you find them on the nest 
dead. They are too fat to stand any strain for this fatty 
degeneration weakens the walls of the arteries which can 
not resist the pressure. Birds will sometimes die while 
on the roost, or they will drop dead while in the yard but 
as a general thing there must be some over exertion to 
cause the rupture of the blood vessel. Fowls that have 
been chased around the yard will sometimes fall its prey; 
the increased action of the heart causes the blood to flow 
to the brain and the rupture is the result. 

Symptoms. 

The bird is generally dead before you suspect any- 
thing wrong with it. But cases have come under my obser- 
vation of late where a pullet or hen would go on the nest 
to lay and while straining trying to expel the egg their 
comb would be dark and purple and before it was a bright 
red. This is a good symptom of Apoplexy and you should 
begin to work on them. Also after running a bird if the 
comb gets dark or purple you should make investigation 
immediately. If the bird seems to be in an over fat condi- 
tion and stands around with the wings drooped you should 
begin at once- to locate the trouble. 
Treatment. 

Very little can be done for birds with this trouble; the 
best treatment is preventation. Do not let your birds get 
into this overfat condition, feed foods that have not such 
stimulating qualities and make your birds exercise after all 
the food they get. Do not feed corn or cornmeal in large 
quantities if you do an over fat condition is sure to appear 
and apoplexy will result. 

If you wish to treat the bird the best thing that can 
be done is to apply ice to the head or cold water, for it is 
very important to keep it cool. A laxative such as castor 
oil or olive oil should be given the bird if it can be made 



50 POULTRY DISEASES 

to swallow it. Bleeding the bird will help it in some cases, 
this can be done with a sharp knife by opening the blood 
vessel on the under side of the wing. Let two to two and 
one-half teaspoonfuls of blood flow before allowing it to 
clot. This will reduce the pressure of the vessels. Pro- 
vide some protection for the bird from the heat and keep 
in a cool coop until entirely well; and remember apoplexy 
is much easier prevented than it is cured. There are not 
many cases where they were entirely cured. 
Congestion of the Brain. 
Congestion of the brain is not a common disease by 
any means but still there are a lot of poultrymen that are 
troubled with it. It is generally found where birds are 
in an over fat condition just like apoplexy. In the summer 
while the rays of the sun is at its best you will also find it 
occasionally. Congestion of the brain and fits work very 
much alike and worms may be another common cause. By 
post-mortem examination ycu can detect the intestinal 
worms if they are present. When you find a bird with this 
trouble you usually find convulsions, giddiness, and un- 
certainty in walking. The bird will throw its head back 
or forwards and this symptom is very much like limber 
neck. Nothing can be done for such cases only preventa- 
tion. If you wish to treat the bird use cold application to 
the head and keep it in as cool a place as possible where 
the heat can not effect it. 



LIMBER-NECK 



A Disease that is not Contagions as Most People Think — 

It is Simply a Symptom of Another Disease — Its Cause, 

Symptoms and Treatment. 

Most people who have had any experience with limber- 
neck think that it is very contagious after it once breaks 
out in a flock. They have the wrong idea of it and it is 
not contagious at all. It is no disease only a symptom of 
some other disease or trouble. Limberneck is caused by 
the birds eating some decayed body or flesh. It is ptomaine 
poisoning. We have always noticed that limberneck will 
break out during the hot summer months; while the weeds 
are high and thick one of the hens happen to die and there 



AND THEIR REMEDIES 5/ 

she lies until she is eaten up by other members of the flock. 
She is full of maggots in a few days and the birds eat 
them and the result is ptomaine poisoning. Some good 
authorities claim that any kind of maggots will cause 
limberneck and it looks like they would but I cannot think 
it for all maggots are not full of poison and it is the poison 
and not the maggots that cause the trouble. 

It is a hard matter to locate the dead carcass where 
the flock has free range and especially farm flocks. You 
might find one or two and still there would be another in 
some secluded place where you would not dream of look- 
ing and still you would lose a lot of your birds by them 
eating it. When the trouble breaks out the best thing to 
do is to place the entire flock in yards and keep them there 
until you know the dead carcasses have had time to decay 
and leave. 

Limberneck is common to all parts of the country and 
the name certainly does describe the condition they are 
in for their necks are limber sure; and it is very easily rec- 
ognized by the muscles of the neck being partially paralyz- 
ed. And this no doubt is where the trouble first tank 
its name. Feeding meats that are full of maggots, and 
other poisonous foods that are indigestible have been 
inown to cause bad cases of limberneck. 

Symptoms. 

The bird will stand in a stupid position and will have 
no energy to move about and follow the rest of the flock 
but will try to isolate itself in some dark corner and hold 
its neck in an arched position with the crown of its head 
resting en the ground between its feet. They will also 
have convulsions and twist their neck in many different 
positions and the neck is surely limber as the name implies, 
cases instead of the neck hanging down between the feet 
it will throw it back and the bird's head will rest nearly 
on its back and twists nearly around; this is known as 
"wry-neck." 

Treatment. 

As soon as you find the diseased bird give any medi- 
cine you have or anything else that will counteract the 
poison. Give a small dose of oil of turpentine and sweet 
oil equal parts will be found very good in throwing off the 



52 POULTRY DISEASES 

poison; in about thirty or forty minutes after you give the 
turpentine and oil give the bird all the sweet milk it will 
drink, a little ginger added to the milk will be good also. 
Keep the bird in a warm dry coop and in from twelve to 
twenty-four hours the bird will show much improvement 
and will be ready to be turned out and given the same 
rations as before, feed plenty of green food and ten drops 
of mix vomica in a quart if drinking water will be found 
helpful as a tonic after a few days. Hyposulphite of soda 
one ounce to each gallon of drinking water will be good for 
the flock or some cases that are not of a serious nature; 
allow no other drink until the trouble is gone. 

Search the premises thoroughly for any dead and de- 
cayed bodies thtat are full of maggots. If your flock has. 
free range it would be well to keep them confined in small 
yards for a week or ten days so that the decayed flesh can- 
disappear. Cut all weeds about the place and see if the 
cause can be found. Limberneck will never amount to 
much if it is taken into hands at once after the first case 
appears. 

Another remedy for this trouble is to take equal parts 
of pure lard, mustard, cayenne pepper and ginger and mix 
thoroughly and make out into slugs about the size of a 
bean and give one for a dose and repeat in three hours if 
necessary. This is an old remedy and is a sure remedy to 
counteract the poison. Also if pure lard is melted up and a 
tablespoonful is poured down the bird it will in most cases 
effect a cure. Remember that limberneck is not contagious 
by any means and can be stamped out readily if taken in 
hands at once and the cause removed. 



THE COMB. 



Its Diseases and Injuries — With Cause, Symptoms and 
Treatment. 

The comb of a bird is very helpful to the poultry keep- 
er in determining the condition it is in for just as soon as 
the bird gets the least bit out of condition the comb will 
show it immediately. This is about the only way we have 
to determine the bird's condition, and it is about the same- 
in the human patient the physician has the tongue instead.. 



AND THEIR REMEDIES 53 

There are no diseases of the comb and they are only symp- 
toms of some other disease that the bird has. Always re- 
member that when the comb of a bird gets pale or purple 
there is always some other disturbance in the body that is 
causing it. We very often notice the tips of the comb get- 
ting purple, in this case the disturbance is only slight but 
when the comb and wattles get dark, the trouble is very 
serious and something should be done immediately for the 
trouble will no doubt be fatal if nothing is done. 

We all realize what color combs our birds should 
possess and to get this bright red color we must give them 
the best of attention, food, etc., or else these symptoms 
may appear. We can prevent most any poultry diseases if 
we have a mind to do so; proper care, food, and housing 
are all that is needed to keep the birds in a healthy condi- 
tion. Remember that the comb is always the first place to 
show any disturbances of the organs of the bird's body. 

Black Rot. 

The name of this disease itself really tells the whole 
story. The comb turns black and the tissues seem to be 
dead and the diseased parts will rot off or become separat- 
ed in time from the rest of the comb and leaves a very un- 
sightly stump as when the comb has been frosted. Black 
rot is found only in high combed breeds, only rare cases 
of black rot in birds that have low combs. The cause of 
this trouble is due from improper circulation of blood 
through the comb which causes the tissues to become dead. 
Most every case of black rot will be caused from some kind 
of liver trouble. Every time the liver gets out of order 
the comb will show it and tells the whole story. 

Symptoms. 

In the early stages of black rot the comb will be just 
a little dark; generally the points become pale or purplish, 
and in a few days the whole comb will become dark. Cases 
where the bird is in a healthy condition and with strong 
vitality the diseased portion of the comb will separate from 
the other and fall off leaving a stump. The color changes 
from a purple to a blue and then to black. The bird will 
not have much appetite and will stand around in a stupid 
position and will have very little energy. 



54 POULTRY DISEASES 

Treatment. 

Just as soon as you notice a bird of your flock with 
a dark comb you should catch it at once and place in a 
coop and begin immediate treatment for in advanced stages 
of black rot treatment is of little value then and nothing 
can be done. Feed plenty of green food and do not gi^e 
stimulants; see that the bird has plenty of sunlight and 
fresh air. Paint the comb three times a day with the fol- 
lowing lotion: Water one ounce, glycerine three-fourths 
of an ounce, and carbolic acid crystals one grain. Now 
add one teaspoonful of muriate of ammonia to each pint of 
the drinking water this will help the liver perform its 
duties more easily. 

Phosphate of soda is also said to be good; give the sick 
bird one-half teaspoonful daily. Now the treatment of 
black rot will be of little value as I said above out the 
proper way to begin treatment is to locate the cause under- 
lying the trouble and try to prevent any more cases from 
appearing and deal with the old cases the best way you 
can. Mild cases can be cured if taken in time but advanc- 
ed cases treatment will not do much good. 
Favus (White Comb.) 

We hardly ever meet this disease in the poultry yard 
although it is very contagious and as soon as it makes its 
appearance in a flock it should be stamped out immediate- 
ly by all means. Favus ( white comb) is a skin disease of 
germ origin. Birds that have free range rarely have chis 
trouble unless they have been exposed to it by coming in 
contact with other birds that had it. The cause of favus 
is lack of green food, sunshine and exercise. Keep your 
houses closed up tight during the winter months when 
the fowls are compelled to stay in and you will have favus. 
Close air is the main cause. 

Symptoms. 

The first symptom is the coming of little white or 
redish pimples on the face and comb; they are nearly al- 
ways of a whitish color when first noticed but later turn 
redish. When first noticed they are under the skin and 
are higher at the circumferance than at the center. They 
will vary in size from a pin head to one-half inch in diam- 
eter. These pimples will appear on the come, wattles, ear 



AND THEIR REMEDIES 55 

lobes and on the crest of the head, then after several days' 
time they will cover the entire body of the bird, but only 
in very severe cases. These pimples will break and the 
watery fluid will run over the surface and drys which gives 
the skin a white appearance, as the bird moves around this 
will break it and it will fall off and look like wheat bran. 
In bad cases the feather will fall out and this gives the 
bird a very bad appearance indeed. 

Treatment. 

Rub the affected parts with carbolated vaseline uid 
give the bird a few drops of nux vomica or tincture chlo- 
ride of iron 20 to 3 drops in a gallon of drinking water. 
If possible give the bird free range where it can get plenty 
of green food and exercise. Do not keep the birds under 
such unhygenic conditions. Disinfect and ventilate the 
houses well and do not crowd them in small tight houses 
for you cannot expect to keep them healthy if kept in such 
traps. The cause of this trouble should suggest a cure. 
FUNGOID. 

While fungoid is not a very common disease still it 
is one of the worst diseases to handle after it once gets a 
started in a flock of birds. It is very contagious and can 
be passed from bird to bird. If no means are taken to 
prevent its spread it will soon run through your whole 
flock and will cause great loss. It usually breaks 
out in flocks that have been fed on food that 
is rich in starch elements and especially flocks that 
are low in vitality. Fungoid will not go through a flock 
of "run down" birds that are low in vitality as fast as 
one that is healthy and vigorous. It is a local rather than 
a general disease, and the whole force of the disease seems 
to show itself in the comb and wattles but in bad cases 
the disesase will spread over the whole body; but in most 
cases the comb and wattles are the only places it is noticed. 

The first you notice of the disease is the appearance 
of the small shot like substances under the skin and they 
feel hard like shot at first and you could hardly distin- 
guish them. Later as the disease advances these small sub- 
stances will flaten and burst through the skin and a dis- 
charge will flow through the punctures of a straw color. 
In about three days after this crop comes and goes there 



56 "POULTRY DISEASES 

will be another one come and crop after crop of these 
pimples will appear. This discharge will dry on the surface 
of the skin and cause the bird much pain from irritation 
and it will be found trying to scratch its comb and face 
with its claws. Bleeding will follow this if something is 
not done to prevent it. The bird is now a bad looking 
prospect indeed and no lover of poultry would care to 
look at the poor unfortunate bird. 

Treatment. 

Do not let the well birds run with those affected but 
isolate them at once. Place the sick bird in a light coop 
well bedded with clean straw and change ev^ry other day. 
Wash the comb and wattles with a 50 per cent solution of 
dioxygen and water night and morning and then apply a 
solution of carbolic acid crystals and water, five grains to 
a pint of water. If after a week's treatment the bird does 
not show any improvement it is well to kill it and bury it 
iOr it will never amount to very much even if it should be 
well in a year, for it will always be weak and have low vi- 
tality and unfit for breeding purposes. To keep the bird 
from scratching the comb and affected parts tie the legs 
to gether with a string just lose enough to allow it to 
walk and stand but not so it can scratch itself. 

Feed the bird on good stimulating food and some- 
thing that will tempt its appetite for the bird will be weak 
and thin and will not have very much appetite. A little 
nux vomica in the bird's drinking water say about ten 
drops in a quart of water will be a good tonic for the sick 
bird. 

FROST-BITE. 

I think most every poultryman has had more or less ex- 
perience with this trouble and I think very little can be 
said about it only prevent it by keeping your birds in 
warm, well ventilated houses. Some think that if they 
make the house air tight it will be warmer but this is all 
a mistake for if the fowls have no fresh air to breath they 
can not possibly stand the cold. Low vitality in birds and 
not enough food will cause frost-bite more and in a worse 
form. A bird that is in a good healthy condition and has 
enough food in its crop to do until morning will stand a 



AND THEIR REMEDIES 57 

great deal more cold than a bird with low vitality and no 
food, can. 

Of course the taller and thinner the comb is the more 
easily it will freeze when exposed to cold weather. When 
the temperature drops thirty to forty degrees in a single 
night we can not well prevent this from happening but if 
we provide warm houses and plenty of good food for the 
birds frost bites will not bother us very much. The best 
house and the best care will not prevent this some times. 

Treatment. 

In treating a frost-bite do not try to thaw it cut all at 
once for you are doing the wrong thing when you do. If 
you can get snow at the time you can apply this to the 
frosted parts and draw out the frost; this can not be done 
in a few minutes either but it will take hours of work to 
bring the frost out. Nothing can be done to save a right 
bad frozen comb, for after it has become black or purple 
you can do nothing, but you might try and may be able to 
lose only the points. Do not take the bird in a warm room 
or in the sunlight but let the bird stay where it will warm 
up gradually. If the comb is swollen and there are water 
blisters on it open them with a fine needle and allow the 
water to run out; and apply witchhazel salve to it. Apply 
tincture of benzoin locally twice a day will be found good. 
One ounce of vaseline, one-half ounce of quinine and two 
ounces of kerosene well mixed and rubbed on the comb 
and wattles will be found satisfactory if applied as soon 
as found. The point is not to let the frosted parts run 
for a day or two and then begin treatment but begin as 
socn as found, and you will likely save most of the comb. 

INJURIES. 

The comb may be injured in many ways, fighting, or 
from getting caught in the wire fence or lath partition 
dividing the house and yards, all are common causes. As 
soon as you notice the bird's comb injured remove it from 
the rest of the flock for they have a tendency to pick at 
the blocd and this may grow into a very bad habit. If 
you will take a fine needle and white silk thread or cat 
gut you can stitch up the wound and with a little pains it 
will grow back and will be hardly noticable. 

Keep the bird in a coop by itself until the parts are 



58 



TOUL TR Y DISEASES 



thoroughly healed and you will prevent the birds from 
picking at it and causing it to heal slowly. If the comb is 
slow in healing apply vaseline to the parts. 




#»«*. 



AND THEIR REMEDIES 59 



CHAPTER V. 



THE LUNGS. 

The Diseases of the Lungs — With Their Causes, Symptoms 
and Treatment. 

There are five diseases that affect the lungs, con- 
sumption, bronchitis, pneumonia, tuberculosis and conges- 
tion of the lungs. The later disease is simply the early 
stages of pneumonia and if allowed to run on without 
prompt treatment the result will be a very bad attack of 
pneumonia. These different diseases are not passed from 
one bird to another but it is best to isolate all birds so as 
to give better attention. It is well to' separate all sick 
birds from well ones even if they have no contagious dis- 
ease. 

Consumption. 

Consumption in most cases is simply an aftermath of 
roup. It is not at all contagious but appears in individual 
cases as in the human family. This disease rarely ever ap- 
pears in strong healthy birds but flocks that are low in 
vitality and from weak ancestors often fall the prey of 
consumption. The nature of this dreaded disease is well 
known. We know it is the wasting away of the lung tis- 
sues, and the general health of the whole bird, just as in 
the human family. It is a disease that should be shun- 
ned as much as possible. If your birds seem weak and 
with little vitality it is best to dispose of them and replace 
with others for fear this trouble might break out in your 
flock. 

Symptoms. 

In the early stages of the disease the only symptom 
you notice is simply weakness without any cause whatever. 



60 POULTRY DISEASES 

In the course of a week or ten days you will notice some 
difficulty in breathing especially if the bird is chased over 
the yard a few times. There will be a rattling sound as 
in bronchitis. While on the roost there will also be some 
roughness of respiration. At this time the bird may be 
laying and seem in very good health only a slight weakness 
but after a month or so the bird will be very thin and 
"wasting away." The comb will be pale, and there will be 
a slight diarrhoea and the food will not be digested prop- 
erly and will pass from the bird in about the same state 
as it was when eaten. The rattling in the throat will be 
somewhat louder and if you go into your house at night 
after the birds are on the roost you will wonder what is 
in the bird's throat to affect the respiration in that way. 

Treatment. 

The best and safest treatment is to use the "hatchet" 
and cremate the birds killed. In this way you might pre- 
vent any other spread of the disease and otherwise you 
would cause your whole flock to become contaminated 
with this dreadful disease. If many cases break out in 
your flock it will be well to dispose of all birds on the 
place and get a new start for they are very low in vitality 
and will never be found successful as breeders. I do> not 
believe any case of consumption can be cured especially 
after it gets into the advanced stages. 

Bronchitis. 

Bronchitis is an inflammation of the membranes of 
the bronchical tubes instead of the nostrils and head 
passages as some think. This disease can be of a light 
stage or very serious one. Some cases will not be any- 
thing more than a simple cold while still another one will 
be as severe as the worst attack of roup. Bronchitis is 
nothing more than catarrh only bronchitis affects the 
breathing tubes while catarrh is an inflammation of the 
nostrils and head. 

It is caused from exposing the bird to cold winds 
and storms, sudden changes in the temperature and damp 
quarters, etc., At certain times I have had good reason to 
believe that bronchitis can be caused from breathing foul 
and impure air. I have known cases where there were no 
other cause. Particles of lime or dust will also cause this 



JJND THEIR REMEDIES 61 

trouble. Bronchitis will some times affect small chicks 
after they have been exposed to rains, or overheated 
brooders. 

Symptoms. 

Tnis disease is not noticed until it has a few days' 
start of you. If you are a close observer of your birds you 
may be able to notice it. At first the bird will be very 
thirsty and the body and legs will be very hot and with a 
high fever. The comb will be a bright red and quite 
warm. There will be a rattling sound in the throat or 
bronchical tubes caused from the mucous that is present in 
the bronchical tubes which affects the breathing. In early 
stages of the disease there is a wheezing sound, later 
there is a rattling as the mucous increases. 

Treatment. 

Remove the bird from its mates and place in a warm 
well ventilated coop bedded with good clean straw. Keep 
the coop clean and in a sanitary condition at all times. 
Give it 2 drops of tincture of Aconite in each quart of 
the drinking water and allow no other drink fGr a week 
or until the bird is nearly well. In very mild cases this 
will be the only treatment necessary. If the cough or rat- 
tling does not stop try the following: Get some tablets of 
Arsenite of Antimony 1-1000 of a drug strength each and 
give one three times a day to the sick bird until well. 

Other remedies for bronchitis are spirits of turpen- 
tine ten drops in a teaspoonful of castor oil every five 
hours until relieved. Flaxseed tea is also good and is 
nourishing. 

Feed the sick bird a warm crumbly mixture of beaten 
egg, bread crumbs and oatmeal, just what it will clean up 
and no more. Beef juice will also be found good if the 
bird is very weak. Keep charcoal and grit before it also. 
Try to prevent any more cases from appearing in your 
flock by going to the bottom of every thing and finding 
the cause. It is easier to prevent a poultry disease than 
it is to cure it. And in preventing them you do not take 
any chances of losing your best birds. In treating this dis- 
ease you will find it will respond very well to medical 
treatment, and is very easily handled. 



62 POULTRY DISEASES 

Congestion of the Lungs. 

This trouble is caused by sudden chilling or most any 
kind of exposure to the fowls. The name describes their 
condition. We very often find a case of congested lungs 
late in the fall when the bird is slow to get through moult- 
ing. They haven't enough feathers on their bodies to pro- 
tect them from the sudden change of the weather. 

Symptoms. 

The bird will stand around on one foot and will have 
no energy to move about and will refuse to eat. The comb 
will turn black or dark and there will be a bloody dis- 
charge from the mouth which is of a mucous nature. If 
you make a post-mortem examination you will discover the 
lungs full of blood and will look very unnatural. Before 
you realize what has taken place the bird will be dead and 
there will be no warning unless you are a very close ob- 
server of your flock. Some cases you will notice some 
difficulty in breathing. 

Treatment. 

You should give all your thought in preventing any 
new cases for nothing can be dene for the sick birds as 
they are generally dead before you realize what has taken 
place. See that your birds have good, dry comfortable 
quarters especially those that are just moulting. Feed 
gcod pure food and give them plenty of animal food while 
the birds are going through their moult. 

If you will give the sick bird one drop of the tincture 
^ ? the amorphous aconitine every two hours you may be 
able to save the bird, especially if taken in its early stages. 
Do not give large doses once or twice a day rather than 
small ones every two hours for you get better results from 
the latter. The best treatment for congestion of the lungs 
is preventation for no medical treatment will be found 
satisfactory. Remember to keep the bird in a room with 
an average temperature of 70 degrees. 

Pneumonia. 
Pneumonia is simply a second attack of congestion 
of the lungs. This is an inflammation of a catarrhal na- 
ture affecting the air cells of the lungs. This is generally 
a very quick death and they usually pass away in a day 



AND THEIR REMEDIES 63 

or two after they reach this stage. Most cases of pneu- 
monia prove fatal. The symptoms are about the same as 
those of congestion of the lungs. If you place the ear to 
the chest you will readily hear the cracking sound as the 
bird breathes. The bird may even pant for breath as in 
the summer. The bird will often sit in a squauing posi- 
tion with the wings drooped, and no energy to move ab >vit. 

Treatment. 

As soon as you discover the trouble remove the bird 
at once to a room with a uniform temperature of about 
70 degrees. Supply an abundance of pure fresh air to 
breathe, have the coop bedded with clean straw and keep 
it in a sanitary condition at all times. Use ten drops ea-:li 
of aconite and bryonia to each pint of drinking water and 
allow no other drink until the bird is pretty well recover- 
ed from the attack, or give one drop of tincture of amor- 
phous aconitine every two hours. Another good remedy is 
to make capsules containing one grain of sulphocarbolate 
of zinc and make the bird swallow one night and morning. 

In treating birds with pneumonia you have to be with 
them quite a lot so as to give them the medicine regular 
together with good attention. It must also be prompt t>nd 
active, as the disease is very rapid and will soon carry the 
bird away in some cases even if you do give the oird 
prompt treatment. 

Keep the strength of the bird up as much as possible 
by giving beef juice or eggs beaten up together with fresh 
sweet milk and bread added. Do not give too much but 
feed lightly for several days. 

Tuberculosis 

Tuberculosis is not a common disease among poultry 
of this country, but still we find some few cases o£ it 
among the different flocks. It is much more rapid than 
consumption and will soon cause the bird to wear away, or 
"going light" as some express it. As soon as we find a 
bird of this kind in our flock it is best to kill the diseased 
bird at once and cremate it for fear if it is buried it will 
be scratched up by some dog or cat and hence cause the 
rest of the flock to become exposed to it. 

Tuberculosis is a disease that we should do all in our 



64 POULTRY DISEASES 

power to exterminate. We all know what it is doing for 
the human race and up to a few years ago they were not 
doing anything to check its spread but since they have 
made great strides to check and fight this dreaded dis- 
ease. We have known birds to catch it from tuberculosis 
cows and you should watch such in order to keep down its 
spread. There is a germ-bacillus present in all cases of tu- 
berculosis and from this is where the disease spreads. The. 
only symptom that is present in tuberculosis is the bird 
"going light" and some cases the bird will be so weak it 
can not walk more than half a dozen steps before it is com- 
pletely exhausted. There will also be a slight cough with 
it and a little difficulty in breathing. 

Treatment. 

It will not pay you to treat birds with tuberculosis, 
for even if you could "patch them up" so they looked 
good, you would not want to breed from such birds and 
have them passing these germs down to their offspring 
and in a few years have your whole flock a diseased one, 
would you? It is best by all means to kill the bird as 
soon as you discover it is going light and you suspect 
tuberculosis. Cremate it and you have it out of the way. 
Begin then to clean up everything about the yard and* 
houses. Dust the inside of the house thoroughly and get 
all cobwebs out of the corners and spray well with a 
strong solution of carbolic acid and water. If you have a 
spray pump you can get into every crack and crevice. Cul- 
tivate the yards and if possible remove the other (well) 
birds from the old quarters and give them new ones. 

If you wish to treat any of the sick birds you can 
place them in a coop far away from the rest of the flock 
and give them as a tonic arsenate of iron in pill form 1-5 
grain each night and morning. Cod liver oil will also be 
found good to give in mash and will help nourish the bird. 

It is not at all a good idea to treat a bird with this 
dreaded disease for you are likely to have the other birds 
exposed to it while doing SO' and will endanger them. Kill 
all birds affected and be on the safe side. 



AND THEIR REMEDIES 65 



CHAPTER VI. 



THE CROP AND INTESTINES. 



The Cause, Symptoms and Treatment of all Diseases 

Known to Affect the Crop and Intestines, I ncluding 

Diarrhoeas and Cholera, with Reliable Remedies. 

Enteritis. 

Enteritis is caused by bacteria which get into the in- 
testines and causes great inflammation. This is a very 
common disease among poultry and it is often mistaken 
fcr cholera. Enteritis will also follow neglected cases of 
diarrhoea. Foul drinking water, uncleanliness, filthy and 
rotton food will also cause this trouble. As the disease 
develops the excrement will be a greenish color and 
there is always more or less looseness of the bowels. In 
the early stages the comb will only be a little pale, later 
turning purple and very dark. Where the different va- 
rieties of bacteria are present in large numbers there 
will he some blood in the excrement. The bird has very 
little energy to move from place to place and will appear 
to be in a sleepy condition at all times. The bird will not 
eat and the crop will be full of food and water. In some 
cases if you hold the bird by the feet head down the water 
will run out of the crop. If you make a post-morten ex- 
amination you will find the intestines full of mucous and 
ic liver enlarged. 

Treatment. 

Isolate all sick birds at once and try to prevent any 
more cases by giving pure food and water. Enteritis is 
very contagious and should be handled very carefully at 
all times. Wash out all drinking fountains with scalding 
water and begin at once to clean the house and give it 



66 POUL TR Y DISEASES 

a good disinfecting. Give the sick birds a teaspoonful of 
olive oil three times a day until you see a change in them 
then give only once a day. Feed the bird on bread soaked 
in milk and give sv/eet milk to drink. If you will give the 
sick bird one-tenth of a grain tablet of calomel three 
times a day this will also be found very good and will 
help to effect a speedy cure. Give only pure fresh water 
and food at all times. 

Common Diarrhoea. 

Common diarrhoea may be caused from many causes 
but the most common of these are: Feeding too much 
loosening foods such as bran, green bone, etc., too much 
food or drink after fasting, long journey, want of shaae 
in hot weather, vermin and over crowding. This is also 
often mistaken for cholera by many. Excrement may 
be of a whittish, greenish or yellowish color and from 
investigations there is no bacteria present in the excre- 
ment. Therefore it is not contagious. The birds are of- 
ten very weak. 

Treatment. 

All the treatment that is needed in these cases is to 
correct the diet, give only pure food and water in clean 
drinking and food dishes that have been scalded out. If 
you will give the bird a teaspoonful of castor oil this will 
help clean the digestive organs out. Keep charcoal before 
the sick bird at all times and try to locate the cause and 
remove it and you will have no further trouble. Sweet 
milk will be found very good for mixing the mash with. 
Feed very light for a few days and then do not feed 
grains that have coarse hulls on them. 

Diarrhoea Caused from Poisons. 

Diarrhoea will often result from birds eating paint, 
skins, salty meat, unslacked lime, white lead, lye, and 
rough-on-rats. Poisons from paint are very common 
'especially where the painter has been and has left some 
paint buckets out and let it rain in them; the birds drink 
this water that has stood in these buckets and poison fol- 
lowed by diarrhoea is the result. Paris Green and other 
spray mixtures will cause it also. The symptoms of this 
trouble are as follows: Convulsions, diarrhoea with 



AND THEIR REMEDIES 67 

streaks of blood, watery discharge from mouth and nos- 
trils, weakness with a great desire to sleep. 
Treatment. 
As soon as you discover that your birds have eaten 
this poison you should begin at once to pour eggs down 
them or give flax seed tea in large quantities. Later give 
■sweet milk all they will drink. You seldom notice this 
trouble until it is too late to administer any thing. Pre- 
vent it by keeping all poisons out of their reach. 

Gastritis. 

This disease is often met in connection with inflam- 
mation of the crop. It is the enlargement of the food pas- 
sage just before it reaches the gizzard. Eating mouldy or 
poisonous foods, too much forcing for egg production 
together with condiments is the principal cause of Gas- 
tritis. The mucous lining is very much inflamed and red 
and the blood vessels enlarged. The bird will have no ap- 
petite, the temperature will be high together with gen- 
eral weakness and diarrhoea one day and constipation the 
next. 

Treatment. 

Give boiled rice water to drink, and do not let the ir- 
ritating cause continue its work, but check it at once. 
Give caster oil until the bowels operate freely and then 
use bicarbonate of soda, twenty-five grains in a quart of 
water. Feed very light on soft mashes, mixing same with 
water which has been poured over cut clover the night be- 
fore and feed some meat food. 

Dysentery. 

Dysentery is a neglected case of diarrhoea, (or a 
chronic case as you may call it) running into deep in- 
flammation. Some cases it is a disease by itself originat- 
ing from a filthy condition of the house and yard. Filthi- 
xiess in food and water will bring en looseness of the bow- 
els and this if not checked will develop into dysentery. 
Filthy water, improper ventilation, bad food are all com- 
mon causes of dysentery. The symptoms are as follows: 
'The bird shows great weakness, and at times can hardly 



68 POULTRY DISEASES 

stand alone and will still continue to grow weaker until 
they fall off their feet. There is always a looseness of 
the bowels, the discharge will be thin and watery and if 
inflammation is very great there will be streaks of blood 
in the excrement. 

Treatment. 
Place one ounce of sulpho-carbolate <. f zinc in a half 
gallon of water for the sick fowls to drink. Do not allow 
them any other drink for five or six days at least. And 
remember that the diet of all birds must be nonirritating. 
Feed very lightly for a few days on course food: wheat 
middlings rather than bran. Epsom salts if placed in the 
drinking water will also be found good in affecting a 
speedy cure. 

Mould. 

Mould is a trouble something like "going light." Some 
people think that any kind of food is good enough for 
their birds and they buy musty burned wheat, etc., for 
them and the result, is after feeding this kind of food a 
while, will be mould. Mould v/ill also be caused by inhal- 
ing dust from mouldy straw, hay, etc. The symptoms of 
mould are indicated by lack of ambition, the bird will 
separate itself from the rest of the flock, will have no ap- 
petite and there is always a catarrhal discharge from the 
nostrils, with a rattling in the throat and great difficulty 
in breathing. It will be nothing but skin and bones. 
Treatment. 
As soon as you discover a case of mould in your flock: 
you should kill the bird at once and cremate it. Practical- 
ly nothing can be done. The only thing that can be done 
is to cut out all mouldy food and give nothing but good 
sound food with pure fresh water. Preventalion is the 
best remedy. If you wish to treat the bird give one grain 
tablet of quinine three times a day. 

Cholera. 

One of the Oldest Diseases Known to Affect Poultry and 

One that most Every Person is Familiar with. Its 

Cause, Symptoms and Reliable Remedies. 

This is one of the oldest diseases known to affect 

poultry, and it is very common in all sections of the coun- 



AND THEIR REMEDIES 69 

try to misname all bad cases of bowel trouble, indigestion, 
diarrhoeas, etc., cholera; more especially those in which 
the excrement is of a greenish color. This is a reason 
many think cholera is a very common disease. Cholera is 
not a very common occurrence, and seldom attacks domes- 
tic fowls if they are kept under reasonably sanitary con- 
ditions. Cholera usually runs a very rapid course, the 
bird being apparently well in the morning, sick at night 
and dead in a day or two. It attacks all varieties of do- 
mestic fowls. And has been known to affect wild birds 
that were inhabiting an infected district. When cholera 
makes it appearance in flocks that have free range, it is 
almost impossible to control it; but where fowls are kept 
in close confinement the trouble can be readily stamped 
•out if prompt measures are taken as soon as it is first 
noticed. Just as soon as you find you have a case of chol- 
era in your flock you should begin at once to prevent any 
further spread of it. 

Cause. 

The infection is nearly always introduced with food 
or water, which has come in contact at some time with 
some of the excrement of a diseased bird. The blood 
and raw flesh of diseased birds if eaten by well ones will 
transmit the disease to the well birds. If well birds come in 
contact with diseased birds they will also have it. It seems 
the air gets full of the cholera bacteria and it will light 
down on your flock and you can not account for it. Still 
your neighbors' birds have cholera several miles away. 
In the first place I think the real cause of cholera is caus- 
ed from filthy quarters, improper ventilation during warm 
weather and drinking stagnant water. Often cholera is 
introduced into your flock by the purchase of an infected 
bird. 

Symptoms. 

The first symptoms of cholera is usually a light di- 
arrhoea; the bird shows a lack of life and spirit, moping 
around half asleep and with ruffled feathers. The bird 
will lose all appetite and will have great thirst which is a 
good sign of high fever: it will drink eagerly until it can 
no longer retain the water in the crop and spills it when 



70 POULTRY DISEASES 

the head is lowered. The legs will be very hot and dry, 
comb will be pale and sometimes dry with a rough sur- 
face and later turning purple and sometimes nearly black. 
The first discharge from the bowels is very thick, and later 
gets less solid and quite watery. As the inflammation of 
the linings of the bowels increases the discharge shows 
slight bloody streaks and will sometimes increase until 
the excrement is nearly pure blood. The crop is frequent- 
ly found distended with a rank foul smelling liquid. Birds 
affected with cholera lose flesh very rapidly and in a short 
time they will have no strength and will die from ex- 
haustion. 

The diarrhoea which is nearly always present is one 
of the chief symptoms. It will soil the feathers about the 
vent and will often cake on them giving a very unsightly 
appearance which is of a greenish color. The chief symp- 
toms to be depended on in diagnosing a case are as fol- 
lows: pale face, comb and wattles, yellowish or greenish 
diarrhoea, frequent discharge of excrement, lack of life 
and moping around half asleep. 

Treatment. 

The treatment of cholera is very unsatisfactory and 
if you wish to try to treat the sick birds you should begin 
at once and do not wait until the bird is ready to die be- 
fore you begin. If you do the bird will be so weak that 
medical treatment will be of little use. I would not advise 
anyone to try to treat fowels with cholera unless they are 
very valuable ones Kill all diseased specimens at once; 
disinfect all houses and runs and continue to do so as 
long as the disease lasts. Remove the sick birds from the 
well ones as soon as possible and place them clear out 
of reach of the well ones; wash all drinking vessels out 
daily with scalding water. 

All sick birds should be fed highly concentrated food, 
such as bread soaked in beef juice, or feed beef juice from 
a spoon. This kind of food is very nourishing and 
strengthening to the sick bird. When the trouble is first 
noticed, give the bird a table spoonful of castor oil and 
follow this in thirty minutes with a tablet containing 1-2 00 
of a grain of arsenite of copper every three or four hours 



AND THEIR REMEDIES 71 

or give 1-1000 of a grain tablet of carrosive sublimate 
(mercury bichloride) every three hours. 

The following prescription is also an effective rem- 
edy: Sulphur 8 ounces, pulverized charcoal 4 ounces, pul- 
verized capsicum 2 ounces, pulverized rhubarb 3 ounces, 
carbonate of iron 8 ounces, pulverized opium 1-2 ounce, 
and pulverized gold seal 2 ounces. Mix thoroughly and 
keep in an air tight bottle or box to preserve strength. 
Make a pill about the size of a small pea and make the 
sick bird swallow one three times a day. 

Give both the sick and well birds a few drops of creo- 
lin in their drinking water. Cremate all birds that die. 
The bird has no use of the neck muscles at all and in some 
Remember that cholera is a germ disease and very highly 
contagious and prompt treatment and thorough disinfec- 
tion are the only means of stamping it out. 



WHITE DIARRHOEA OR BOWEL TROUBLE IN SMALL 
CHICKS, 



A Disease that Kills More Small Chicks than all Other Dis- 
eases Combined — What the Disease is — Its Cause, 
Symptoms and Treatment. 

This one disease kills more small chicks than all 
other diseases combined. Nearly everyone who has raised 
chicks in their time has had more or less experience with 
this dreaded disease. This disease may go under many 
different names but it is all the same disease and comes 
from the same cause. It is known as white diarrhoea, 
bowel trouble, pasting up, etc. It is a very common thing 
to hear people say that their chicks are dying from bowel 
trouble, sleeping themselves away etc., and I believe we 
hear it more now than we did a few years back and this 
is good proof that it is growing rapidly and there must be 
something done to prevent its spread. You can prevent it 
if you take it in time and I believe stamp it out of your 
flock altogether. At least I have been successful with it 
during the last few years. How discouraging it is to have 
a nice lot of chicks come off and in a few days they will 



'72 "POULTRY DISEASES 

begin to die off and before you know it you have lost the 
whole bunch. The trouble is weak germs and you cannot 
do anything for them only let them die. You have to 
work on the breeding stock before you can expect any re- 
sults. 

Cause. 

The principal cause of this dreaded disease is a para- 
site called Coccidium tenellium. It can also be caused by 
over feeding, over heating, etc. In fact most any thing 
that happens to the little fellows in the early stages of 
their lives will cause indigestion to appear and of course 
diarrhoea will now play its important part. This small 
parasite will cause weak germs: eggs that would have 
iatched strong healthy chicks under other conditions 
would not where these parasites or germs are present. 
This germ or parasite will get into the intestines and egg 
organs of the breeding stock and every egg that is laid 
by a hen or pullet with these parasites present will 
hatch a chick that will be weak and will die from white 
diarrhoea. The yolk of the egg will be contaminated with 
these parasites which will get there while the egg is form- 
ing. Of course the chick has to live on the yolk of the 
egg for a few days after it is hatched for nature provides 
food for it in this manner and this is one reason we should 
not feed our chicks for at least forty-eight hours, and is it 
any wonder the chick will never amount to much and die 
during the first week of its life, with such food as this 
which is full of these deadly parasites? 

We very often hear poultry people make the remark 
that "my chickens die in the shell and arr* not able to get 
out," and that "my eggs do not hatch well and what chicks 
I do get are not growing any and seem to have no cuers;- 
to hustle for a living but prefer to stay under the hover 
and sleep themselves to death." These are very common 
among poultry raisers today and these parasites are the 
cause of the whole trouble. I will stick to it that this one 
trouble will kill more small chicks than all other diseases 
combined, and I think most everyone will agree with me. 

HO\v the First Symptoms Appear. 

You can tell a weak germed chick as soon as it is 



AND THEIR REMEDIES 73 

hatched; they are not as plump and thrifty as the strong 
germed fellow. Weak germs will show up very readily. 
If you notice a chick hanging around under the hover 
pretty close you might just as well count him out for it 
will not be long before he passes away. They refuse to eat 
with the rest of the flock, have no energy to follow the 
rest and will sit and sleep themselves to death; and you 
can often find them where they were sitting in the sun 
and dropped over dead. In about three or four days after 
they come off the symptoms will appear, and they will 
later begin to show up more plainly. The diarrhoeal dis- 
charge will now appear and they will paste up. The excre- 
ment will be a whittish looking substance and this is 
where it took its name "white diarrhoea." 

If you will open a chick that has just died from this 
trouble you will find the liver to be enlarged and of a 
pale color, the gizzard will be filled with undigested food; 
in some cases where the chick dies in a day or two after 
hatched you will find the yolk of the egg undigested. 
The crop will be full of wind and some cases you will 
find it full of liquid which has a very bad odor, the chick 
will be thin and will be nothing but skin and bones. Just 
nothing more than a shadow. Some cases the chick will 
last for a week or two but in most cases it will die in from 
two to four days after it has been hatched. Of course this 
is governed by the number of parasites present and the 
severity of the attack. 

Treatment. 
Preventation is the best treatment you can find; in 
fact there is no use to try to treat the small chicks for 
they have no constitution and can not stand treatment. 
You must study the situation carefully and find out the 
cause. If it is from overheating, overfeeding or chilling 
remove the cause at once; but if you are losing them when 
you know the above causes do not exist you can almost 
be sure that the trouble is caused by parasites (Coccidium 
tenellium) and you must get them out of the systems of 
the breeding stock for this is the seat of the whole trouble. 
The best remedy I have found in my investigations 
is to place some epsom salts in the drinking water of the 
breeding birds. Place it in there every week or two and 



74 "POULTRY DISEASES 

continue through the entire breeding season and this will 
rid their systems of these parasites. A few drops of cren- 
lin is also said to be good and will give good results if 
placed in the water every week. You must use every ef- 
fort to prevent the spread of this trouble. Before using- 
the incubator after the hatch you should wash it out thor- 
oughly with a good disinfectant or a strong solution of 
creolin and water (about one part of creolin to twenty-five- 
parts of water.) Air the egg tray well and if possible let 
the sun get to all parts of the incubator chamber so as 
to dry it thoroughly. The floor of the nursery should be 
removable so that you can substitute fresh material for a 
floor. If you are hatching with a hen you should treat 
the hen for these parasites and disinfect the nest well be- 
fore setting. Dip all eggs in a weak solution of creolin 
and water and dry well before setting either in incubator 
or under hens. 

Do not let the drooping accumulate for this will tend 
to spread the disease and make it much harder to work 
against. Burn or bury all chicks that die from this trouble 
and try to prevent any further spread. Do not let them 
get chilled, overheated or overfed. While these things 
will cause bowel trouble still I think that the small para- 
site will be found the worst to work against, and unless 
you start at once to stop the trouble you will find out that 
your profits will be mighty short during the year. 



THE DISEASES OF THE LIVER. 



Blackhead — Congestion — -Inflammation — Hyperthrophy or- 

Over Fat Liver — "IVitii the Cause, Symptoms and 

Treatment. 



Blackhead. 

This is a very contagious disease and is confined prin- 
cipally to turkeys. It generally runs through the whole 
flock before you have any chance to check it. Young 
birds fall its prey more so than adult birds. The cause of 
this disease is a small parasite that works on the liver of 
the bird and it is very hard to control and after it has be- 



AND THEIR REMEDIES 75 

come established, heroic measures must be taKen at once. 
The symptoms of blackhead are as follows: general weak- 
ness with very little appetite; the bird will be weak from 
the start and will have no energy at all to move about. 
There is always a constant diarrhoea. In a day or so tue 
head will turn dark, later black and this is where the dis- 
ease first took its name. 

Treatment. 

As soon as you notice a case in your flock you should 
begin at once to stamp it out and it will take heroic meas- 
ures to do so. Isolate all birds affected and do not allow 
the well birds to run with the sick ones if you do you can 
not expect to get satisfactory treatment or results. The 
best treatment is preventation in fact this is best with all 
diseases. It will be better to kill all affected birds vnd 
cremate them and then begin to disinfect the houses and 
yards thoroughly with a good reliable disinfectant. The 
germs of this disease are thrown off from the bowels and 
as the diarrhoea is severe hence the danger of infection is 
very great; and always keep the birds isolated in dry, well 
ventilated coops. If you wish to treat the sick birds you 
can give the following three times a day. Hyposulphite of 
soda 2 grains, sulphate of cinchonidia 1 grain, sulphur 10 
grains, and sulphate of iron 1 grain. Mix thoroughly and 
give a teaspoonful in soft food for each bird. Place a 
teaspoonful of hyposulphite of soda in a gallon of drinking 
water; this will also be found effective. 

Congestion of the Liver. 

This is another disease that you do not realiza yoi 
have until the bird is in a very bad shape. You very sel- 
dom notice the early symptoms of this disease. About the 
only symptom you notice is the comb getting a little dark. 
After the bird reaches this stage there will be a slight 
diarrhoea which will be a watery color at first later chang- 
ing to a yellowish color. The bird has no appetite find 
will move from place to place without any ambition to eat 
or take any exercise. Congestion of the liver is caused 
from improper feeding and if you take a case in rime you 
will be able to bring the bird back, to its normal hea'.th 
again. 



76 POULTRY DISEASES 

Treatment. 

Cut out the corn and corn meal and make ie mash 
at least one-half cut clover or just as much as the bird will 
eat; also feed fresh cut green bone. If it is in the winter 
months give them a good clean deep litter to work in ana 
if during the summer months give them fire? range on 
nice grassy runs. Place the sick bird in a dry, well lighted 
coop and the first thing you must do is to give it a tea- 
spoonful of castor oil. After you get results from this ycu 
can then refrain from all medical attention and then de- 
pend upon proper food and care to bring the bird back to 
normal health. Make the bird take plenty of exercise and 
feed only a plain diet. 

Inflammation of the Liver. 
It is very hard to diagnose a case of liver trouble for 
the symptoms appear very slow and you have to wait until 
the disease is at its worst before you can detenuir.3 just 
what it is. Inflammation of the liver works very much 
like a congested liver and the symptoms are much alike. 
The bird will have no energy to move about, the breathing 
will be sluggish, the abdomen will in some cas?s be swol- 
len, the skin will show a yellowish hue and th3 °.omb will, 
be very pale and later turning dark. The bird nil not 
eat much and after several days pass it will be nothing 
more than skin and bones. 

Treatment. 

Give the bird a teaspoonful of castor oil and clean the 
bowels out; then begin to get the bird to take light diet 
for a few days. A little bread soaked in sweet milk will 
be good for it; or be~f juice fed to the sick bird will help 
to strengthen it. In the drinking water place ten drops 
of nux vomica in a pint and allow no other drink for a 
week at least. The bird must be kept in a quiet plac° 
until it is entirely well and feed very sparingly what you 
do feed. 

Hypertrophy of the Liver. 

The name of this trouble will readily tell you how it 
affects birds. An over large liver is found mostly in the 
early spring after the birds have been closed up all winter 
and have been fed on food that tends to produce fat and 



J1ND THEIR REMEDIES 77 

enlarges the liver. This generally appears in hens after 
they are over two years old. This is caused from con- 
stant over feeding of heat producing foods without any 
vegetable foods. Overfeeding without exercise is bound 
to cause you some trouble sooner or later. When you see 
a hen staying on the roost late and returning early in the 
afternoon it is time to begin to get busy. At this time the 
comb of the bird will be very bright and she seems to be 
in perfect health; after a few days she will become weak 
and her walk will be very unsteady and she will stand in 
one position for hours. When you pick the bird up you 
will readily see that she is over fat. 

Treatment. 

Change your method of feeding. Make them exercise 
after "all grain food you give them in a deep straw litter. 
Cut out all fat forming or producing foods and make the 
mash at least one-half cut clover. 

If it is during the summer months give them free 
range on a grassy orchard or field where there is plenty 
of shade. For the sick bird give a teaspoonful of powder- 
ed muriate of ammonia in a quart of water and allow no 
other drink for a week, giving fresh supply twice a day. 
Give fresh cut green bone to the sick bird but only in very 
small quantities. Avoid stimulating foods. Feed very 
sparingly after this so as to not get your birds over fat. 
If you will make them exercise after most, of their food 
this will be found a good preventative. 



INTERNAL DISEASES 



Two Varieties, the Round Worm "and Tape Worm. The 
Round Worm is the More Common of the Two. 

There are two kinds of worms that are common and 

are found in most birds. They are the round worm and 
the tape worm. If you have dressed many birds you no 
doubt have noticed them more or less in the digestive 
canals of the birds. The round worm is more common 
than the tape worm and is not very troublesome unless 
they are present in large numbers. If there are only a 



78 POULTRY DISEASES 

few present in the digestive canals of birds there will he 
little trouble from them and they are unnoticed but other- 
wise they will play a great part and affect digestion quite 
a lot. They will cause diarrhoea when present in large 
numbers and also great irritation. They are seldom passed 
with the excrement but when they are they are soon eaten 
by other birds hence this is the way they are spread. The 
color of the round worm is white and they vary in size 
from one-third to four or five inches in length. Their 
head is very sharp while their tail is very blunt. The 
symptoms are about the same as those of diarrhoea and 
the comb will be pale and the bird will be thin and have 
little energy to move about. In real bad cases there will 
be a slight diarrhoea. 

Treatment. 

As soon as you suspect worms begin at once and try 
to remove them. Mix four (4) ounces of turpentine and 
four (4) ounces of sweet oil and give one teaspoonful to 
adult fowls. Follow this with some good laxative. Castor 
oil will be good. Give a teaspoonful to each bird. Two 
grains of santonin to each bird will also be found tO' give 
satisfactory results. Watch for results from these treat- 
ments and be sure to gather all droppings so as to keep 
out of reach of well birds. 

Tape Worm. 

This variety of worm is net at all common among 
fowls and you often run across a person who never saw 
a tape worm and he has kept birds nest all his life. The 
name of this worm derived from the great length and 
thinness of it which very much resembles a piece of tape. 
The symptoms are about the same as those of the round 
worm. Their food seems to do them but little good and 
they will have a fine appetite and still be very thin and 
seem nothing but skin and bones. There will be a slight 
diarrhoea. Some times you will notice small pieces of 
the worm pass with the excrement. It is now time to be- 
gin your work. 

Treatment. 

Just as soon as you know or in fact suspect a tape 
worm is present you should begin at once to destroy same. 



AND THEIR REMEDIES 79 

When treating the bird it will be well to do so when the 
•crop is empty in the early morning. Give it six drops of 
•oil male fern in one teaspoonful of castor oil. About three 
hours after you give the above treatment give a light 
mash to which a teaspoonful of castor or sweet cil has 
"been added. Feed on light diet for a week before return- 
ing to ordinary food. 

All droppings should be burned and the premises 
should be well disinfected with a good strong disinfectant. 
Try to keep both the round and tape worms from spread- 
ing through the excrements. 



THE CROP. 



Its Three Diseases With Their Symptoms and Treatment. 

This is one trouble that I think most every person 
who raises fowls have had more or less experience with. 
If they haven't their time will come. Even if you give 
your birds good attention and the proper food it is liable 
to affect your birds. Most cases come from improper 
feeding but still some cases will appear when you are not 
in fault at all. The bird will sometimes eat old dead grass 
and chaff this will gather in the crop and form a ball then 
it is impossible for it to pass from the crop. Overfeeding 
of too much grain, especially corn will cause it. The 
"bird will eat until it can't hold any more in its crop then 
SO' to the drinking vessel and drink which will cause the 
contents to swell and ferment; now you have a bad case 
of crop bound to deal with. 

When birds are kept housed all winter and are turned 
out in the early spring they will be eager to eat grass 
hence they will eat quite a lot of dead grass which may 
he very long; this will gather into a ball in the crop and 
can't possibly get out of the crop. Such cases as this are 
always troublesone to handle. , 

Often we run upon a case where there is some foreign 
body closes the outlet of the crop; this might be wood, 
bone, etc., with a sharp point sticking into the side of the 
crop which prevents it from passing on through. Such 



80 POULTRY DISEASES 

cases will usually correct themselves for any thing a bird 
can swallow will pass through the digestive canals. 

Symptoms. 

The bird seems dull and slow to move about especial- 
ly if it has been in this condition for some time. There 
will be loss of appetite and the bird will be very sleepy. 
The liquid that gathers in the crop will be very offensive 
and will run from the mouth. Diarrhoea will usually ap- 
pear after a few days or a week, and the feathers will 
be looking very rough and will be standing on their ends. 
The general appearance of the bird is one of dejection. 

Treatment. 

In treating crop bound birds the first thing you must 
do is to empty the contents of it. First give the bird a 
small quantity of castor or sweet oil and then try to 
empty it by manipulation. Hold the head of the bird down 
and with gentle pressure and working try to get the con- 
tents out through the mouth of the bird. Have patience 
and do your work with great care. You cannot expect to 
get it out in a few minutes for this would be impossible. 
After working for a little while you see you will not be 
able to get satisfactory results you will have to try some 
other means. You will now have to 

OPEN THE CROP AND REMOVE THE FOOD 

or contents in this manner. It is best to have an assistant 
to help you, so you will have both hands free. First re- 
move the feathers from over the crop or where you want 
to make the incision so as to leave a bare place about 
three-fourths of an inch wide by two inches long. Now 
have a sharp clean thin bladed knife cut through the skin 
(not into the crop) and allow the blood to flow freely. 
Let this opening be about two inches long. After it ceases 
to bleed then take the incision in the crop about one inch 
long or not so much if you think you can empty the con- 
tents through a small opening. Now you can begin to 
empty the crop; if its contents is of long grass and chaff 
you will have to use some instrument like a shoe buttoner 
to get it out. Use great care and do not try to remove it 
all at once but enly in small bunches. After you get it 



AND THEIR REMEDIES 81 

empty you oan then wash it out thoroughly and examine 
the outlet to see if there is any obstruction in it, if not 
you can then begin to sew it up. This can be done with 
white silk thread or regular cat gut and a small fine 
needle. Sew the crop and skin separate. Take three 
stitches in the crop and tie separate leaving the ends 
long. Now take about four stitches in the outer skin and 
leave long ends here. After about ten days you can cut the 
ends off. After the operation you can give the bird a lit- 
tle beef juice this will strengthen it. Do not feed solid 
food until the bird is entirely well, then give it in very 
small quantities. Let all food be sparingly for ten days. 
Avoid too much food in the crop which might break the 
stitches. 

If you will give the bird ten drops of mix vomica in 
a quart of drinking water this will be a splendid tonic 
and will strengthen the weak bird more than any thing 
else until it is able to take food. If you have waited for 
quite a while before emptying the crop the bird will be 
mighty weak and scarcely able to stand upon its feet. 
Such cases should be and must be handled carefully. 

Inflammation of the Crop. 

Inflammation of the crop is caused from the bird eat- 
ing something irritating; such as rough on rats, paint 
skins and pieces of unslacked lime. The mucous lining 
of the crop becomes inflamed and causes the bird lots of 
pain. I have known cases of this trouble where red pep- 
per has been fed to produce more eggs. Many people try 
to force their birds for eggs, this is wrong and should not 
be done for it will lead to trouble nearly every time. A 
bird that has this trouble is very restless and will move 
from place to place without any aim. It will also be notic- 
ed that the bird will try to swallow still it has not taken 
any food for hours The crop is very tender and painful. 
It causes the poor bird much pain. 

Treatment. 

If the crop is full of food try to empty it at once. Af- 
ter you succeed in getting it emptied give the bird flax 
seed tea and give very simple diet for several days. If 
you discover this inflammation is caused from lime give 



82 POULTRY DISEASES 

weak vinegar water; if rough on rats give magnesia. An- 
other good remedy is as follows: Give milk, barley water 
or some other albuminous fluids after first evacuating 
the crop. If the trouble is from lead or paint skins which 
is very often the case where painters have been working; 
you should administer without delay half a teaspoonful of 
sulphate of magnesia and five grains of sulphuric acid, 
mixed thoroughly in one-half pint of water. After two 
hours give a teaspoonful of castor oil in a grain of opium. 
Remember that paint, crude or ounslacked lime is an 
irritant poison and either will cause inflammation of 
the crop, gizzard and intestines and great care should be 
taken to take it out of the reach of the fowls. Remember 
that unless you administer something at once that will 
stop the irritation it will be hard to affect a cure. 

Enlarged Crop. 

This trouble will annoy the owner more than it does 
the fowl. It is brought about by a continual stretching of 
the crop from overfeeding or impaction of the crop, which 
are allowed to correct themselves. This trouble is not at 
all pleasing to look at for there is always food in the crop 
which the weakened muscles can not push on to the giz- 
zard to be ground or digested. This food has a tendency 
to pull downward and in this way the crop will still get 
larger. 

Treatment. 

The only way to treat such cases is to pluck the 
feathers from ever the crop and make an incision as for 
crop bound only make it longer. With a pair of small 
scissors cut out quite a lot of the membrane and sew up 
as directed in crop bound and be sure that you sew the 
crop and skin separately. Do not feed hard food for ten 
days at least and feed very light then. At the end of six 
days remove any threads that may be showing. Cut with 
scissors close to skin. Try to prevent any further cases 
by the proper feeding. 



AND THEIR REMEDIES 83 



CHAPTER A II. 



THE ABDOMEN AND EGG ORGANS 



The Cause, Symptoms and Treatment of All Diseases 
Known to Affect the Abdomen and Egg Organs. 

Prolapsus of .the oviduct is a disease that is confined 
mostly to old hens. It is not at all a common disease 
among them but we very often run across a case of it in 
the late winter when our birds have been housed up all 
winter and have been fed on over stimulating food. Pul- 
lets are not at all exempt from it. The cause can be trac- 
ed back to hens that have been laying extra large eggs 
and have been overfed. Constipation will also cause it if 
allowed to run on for a while. It has also been noticed 
after a severe case of inflammation of the oviduct. 

Symptoms. 

There is a protrusion from the vent which may be of 
a dark red to a greenish hue in color. It seems to be very 
highly inflamed and if something is not done it will like- 
ly develop into gangrene. The bird will sit and strain 
as if trying to expel an egg and will very often go in a 
nest. The comb will be pale. 

Treatment. 

Place the bird in a coop away from the rest of the 
flock so as to keep her quiet. Grease the parts well with 
carbolated vaseline and replace gently with your greased 
fingers. It will also be well to bathe the parts with a 50 
per cent solution of dioxygen and water before replacing 
them. Give the bird very little food for a few days and 
let that be a mash. Keep the bowels clean by giving Ep- 
scm salts in the drinking water. 



84 POULTRY DISEASES 

Breakdown. r 

This is another trouble that is confined, mostly to old 
hens after they get three years old or older. It is very 
easily recognized for the name of the trouble certainly 
describes their condition. We have very often noticed 
old hens with this "baggy condition" dragging the ground 
nearly. It is seldom seen in the pullets and never in the 
male birds. The cause of breakdown is by feeding too 
much corn or corn diet altogether. This trouble is very 
common in farmers' flocks where the birds get nothing but 
corn the year around. The corn produces large quantities 
of fat in the abdomen and the result is this "baggy con- 
dition" which is very annoying to the owner. 

The best thing to do for such cases is to dispose of 
them at once for market purposes as they will never 
amount to much any more either for breeding purposes or 
egg production. The only thing to do is to cut out all corn 
in the future and try to prevent any more cases. Corn is 
a splendid food for poultry if you do not go to extremes, 
with it and feed nothing but corn. Dispose of the affected 
birds and prevent future cases from appearing. 

Egg Bound. 

This trouble generally appears in the late winter and 
more deaths result at this time of the year than all other 
times. It is due to the over fat condition of the bird. It 
is also more common to larger breeds such as Asiatic 
classes, etc., than the Leghorns. It is seldom we find a 
pullet with this trouble but in most cases it is old hens 
that are in an over fat condition at the time she lays her 
first egg in the winter. This over fat condition may pre- 
vent the egg from being laid in different ways. The fat 
may be present in such large quantities that it might col- 
lect at the lower end of the abdominal cavity and prevent 
the egg from being passed. Other cases have been found 
where the fat was present in such large quantities that it- 
weakened the walls of the muscles of the egg passages to 
such an extent that it caused them to give away and al- 
lowing the egg or its contents to pass into the abdomen. 
The egg passage gives away while the bird is straining try- 
ing to expel the egg. Inflammation will then set up in 



AND THEIR REMEDIES 85 

the abdominal cavity and the bird will not live very long 
if allowed to run on without any treatment. 

A bird in this egg bound condition often dies from 
heart failure while straining on the nest trying to expel 
the egg. This is caused by the over fat condition of the 
"bird's system which weakens the muscles of the heart and 
the over exertion is too much for the weak heart and the 
result is, we find the bird dead on the nest. 

Symptoms. 

The bird will move about with little energy with 
the wings drooped and touching the ground. It will not 
eat, the tail feathers are lowered and the appearance of 
the bird in general is certainly a bad one. If you will 
catch the bird you may be able to see at once what the 
trouble is. Watch the movements of the vent and 
you will see the muscles move as if she was trying to lay 
the egg. The bird will go on the nest and strain trying 
to lay, but without any results, she will come off, later 
going on again with failure to accomplish anything as be- 
fore. The comb will turn pale after the case runs awhile. 

Treatment. 

In mild cases if you will inject into the vent a small 
quantity of sweet oil it will be found helpful in assisting 
the bird to pass the egg. Also give the bird a small dose 
of castor oil by the mouth. If after a few hours the egg 
is not passed you should fill a jug with boiling water and 
hold the bird over it for at least thirty minutes allowing 
only the vent to be steamed. This will relax the muscles 
causing the egg to be expelled. If the egg or its contents 
are now in the abdominal cavity caused from the egg 
passage giving away, yon need not do anything for the bird 
but kill it and get it out of its misery. Death is sure to 
follow in such cases. Feed only on light food for several 
days and do not feed fat forming food. 

Biopsy. 

Dropsy will affect both old and young birds. It is a 
disease of the abdomen. Water collects between the tis- 
sues. This trouble is caused by unsanitary surroundings 
and bad methods of feeding. It may also be a symptom of 
some other disease of the body. The bird will seem in 



86 POULTRY DISEASES 

perfect health only it may be a little sluggish in its move- 
ments caused from the water collected in the abdomen. 
Tumors will also present themselves in connection with 
dropsy. 

Treatment. 

Fowls that have had dropsy and have been cured of it 
will be of little use as breeders and it is well to dispose 
of all such birds for market purposes. You can treat 
birds by giving tonics such as nux vomica or tincture chlo- 
ride of iron. About ten drops of nux vomica can be given 
the bird in a quart of water. And twenty to thirty of the 
chloride of iron in a gallon of water. Allow no other 
water for a week or until the bird is on the road to re- 
covery. With the help of tonics, good pure food and water 
you can expect some change in the birds with dropsy. If 
the water has collected in large quantity it will be a good 
idea to puncture the cavity with a fine needle and allow 
most of the fluid to run out. Boil the needle for an hour 
in boiling water before using it. Provide sunny house or 
coop for the sick bird. After removing the water from 
the bird you can then give it a teaspoonful of sulphate of 
magnesia in a pint of the drinking water. Feed sparing- 
ly for ten days. 

Soft Shelled Eggs. 
This trouble is usually accounted for by lack of shell 
making material. In one sense it is a diseased condi- 
tion and should be looked after promptly. As a general 
thing it is caused by the bird being in an over fat condi- 
tion at the time the egg is developing, or forming. Cases 
have been traced to the inflammation of that part of the 
oviduct where the shell is formed. When a bird is laying 
soft shelled eggs it will lead to some other bad trouble 
and it should be corrected at once. 

Treatment. 

The only treatment for soft shelled eggs is to sup- 
ply an abundance of oyster shells, grit, charcoal, for that 
is free from fat producing qualities, and make the birds 
exercise after all grain you give them, in a deep litter. Do 
not forget the green food and supply cabbage, cut clover, 
etc., at all times. It will be . noticed that birds lay more 



AND THEIR REMEDIES 87 

soft shelled eggs during the late winter months than at 
any other time of the year. Give five drops of fluid ex- 
tract of ergot in a pint of water for the affected bird to 
drink every other day and allow no other drink for a week 
at least. 

Inflammation of the Oviduct. 

This disease is very serious indeed and needs careful 
attention at all times. It causes the bird a great deal of 
suffering and pain. Inflammation of the oviduct general- 
ly appears in connection with an egg bound condition, or 
cases have been known to start from the over feeding of 
condiments or "egg foods" which are too irritating to use. 
It is easy to discover the bird with this trouble for the 
bird seems to be out of shape and all to pieces as soon as 
you find it. There is a desire to strain as if the bird is 
trying to expel an egg and if it does lay there will be 
blood on it. When the bird is straining in this manner it 
will sometimes cause a blood vessel to become ruptured 
and death is certain. The bird will have a high fever at 
first but as the disease develops the fever will decrease 
and the bird will loose strength and will die from exhaus- 
tion. While this is taking place the bird will stand 
around drooped and the feathers will stand on their ends 
with wings dragging the ground. The bird now is certainly 
disgusting to its owner. 

Treatment. 
Separate the sick bird from the flock and give it a 
quiet place. The diet should be your next consideration. 
Do not feed condiments or stimulating foods but feed more 
cut clover. If you think there is a broken egg in the ovi- 
duct remove it at once for there is no use to try to treat 
the case if you do not remove the cause. Grease the 
finger with vaseline and inject into the vent; if you dis- 
cover an egg broken remove it if possible with great care. 
If the egg is too far away then you will have to inject the 
sweet oil into the vent. After the egg is removed the 
passage should be washed with a weak solution of car- 
bolic acid to a 50 per cent solution of dioxygen and water. 
Two grains of bicarbonate of soda with 20 grains of Epsom 
salts will be found helpful if given in the drinking water. 
Keep the bird quiet for several days. 



«S<S "POULTRY DISEASES 



Peritonitis. 



The delicate lining of the abdomen becomes suddenly 
inflamed, this originates from some other inflamed organ 
of the abdomen and peritonitis must come from some othei 
trouble of the abdomen. The breaking of a small blood 
vessel will also cause inflammation to set up and the en- 
tire delicate lining of the abdomen is inflamed before you 
realize what has taken place. There will be a high fever 
and the temperature of the bird will run as high as 105 
to 110 degrees. As the inflammation increases the bird 
will become weak and finally falling on its side and being 
unable to walk will lie and die. There is no appetite and 
breathing is very heavy especially during the last few 
hours of the bird's life. 

Treatment. 

Place the bird in a coop away from the other birds 
and nothing can be done only let the bird die or better 
still kill it and get it out of its misery. This trouble is in- 
curable and the only thing that can be done is to prevent 
any more cases from appearing. While the bird is sick 
give beef juice and fresh sweet milk as nourishment, only 
a few teaspoonfuls three or four times a day will be 
sufficient. 

Vent-Gleet. 

This disease is very contagious and if not attended 
to at once as it makes its appearance in your flock you 
will likely be bothered with it quite a lot. As soon as the 
male bird becomes affected the rest of the hens will have 
it as it is propagated by copulation. It is an inflammation 
that attacks the cloaca and you first notice it by a frequenl 
attempt of the bird to pass excrement, but still nothing is 
passed. The membranes of the vent are swollen and the 
parts are red and inflamed. There will be a milky dis- 
charge which forms a crust on and near the vent. This is 
very offensive. When you discover a hen with vent-gleet 
you should issolate her at once so as to prevent any new 
cases from appearing. 

Treatment. 

Bathe the inflamed parts in warm water as hot as can 



AND THEIR REMEDIES 



89 



be borne to your wrist, and allow the bird to sit over a 
steaming kettle, either will be satisfactory. Add two tea- 
spoonfuls of creolin to a gallon of the water. If there are 
any crusts or scabs present remove them. After bathing 
in this warm water you can now cleanse the inflamed parts 
with dioxygen. If the discharge still appears you can take 
a piece of cotton and soak it in the following solution and 
insert into the vent three times a day. One ounce of dis- 
tilled water (or rain water either) sugar of lead three 
grains and sulphate of zinc three grains. Always shake 
the mixture thoroughly before using. This will dry up 
the discharge. If your sick bird is not well in two weeks 
it will be well to kill and cremate. 




-Journal ^ \ ^^-^^ 



90 



'POULTRY DISEASES 







AND THEIR REMEDIES 91 



CHAPTER VIII. 



PARASITES 



Three Different Varieties — Lice, Mites and Fleas — Form- 
ulas for Making Lice Powder and Liquid Lice Killer 
— How to Fight Them. 

When your birds appear to be sick and out of con- 
dition you had better examine them closely and see if 
their bodies are not afflicted with some parasite. There 
are three kinds of parasites that affect poultry; lice, mites 
and fleas; which are the worst, it is hard to determine if 
you let either of them alone unmolested. I think lice are 
noticed more, in fact they are found in larger numbers 
than the other two. Some of our best poultrymen will 
tell you today that lice will cause them more trouble than 
anything else. Lice may be classed as the magic word 
that means more disease, poor egg yield and a great loss 
to poultrymen in general. In the winter while the birds 
are housed up in close houses most of the time, they are 
almost certain to be full of lice for do not think lice will 
not breed on birds in the winter time for this* is the time 
they breed and get thair work in on them. Lice are in 
season twelve months in the year, in winter and summer 
just the same. When fowls are enjoying out door liberty 
they are not as bad as when they are closed up in houses 
all winter. 

As I have said above if the birds are not doing right 
and seem to be out of condition, or if your egg yield is 
falling off the first thing for you to do is to examine the 
birds closely for lice. If you ask a person if their fowls 
are lousy they will answer most every time that they are 
not; when nine times out of ten they are, but they hate to 



92 POULTRY DISEASES 

own up to it. When a person feels sure that his fowls are 
free from lice it is a very good time to begin work against 
them for if they have a louse or two on them now they 
will be lined with them in a month or so. They will breed 
very fast and soon eat the birds up. While experimenting 
a few years ago with a hen that was full of these pests 
she went to sitting and hatched a very nice flock of chicks 
but it was under great difficulties. Of course the little 
chicks were full of them as soon as they were hatched. 
They began to die off until only two were left at the end 
of two weeks, then they would not grow any and there 
were no feathers on them which of course was caused by 
depluming mites. They were the worst looking sights you 
ever saw and soon died from weakness. In the meantime 
the hen was nothing but skin and bones, the feathers were 
eaten up all but the quill, the skin was scaly and she 
finally died from a bad case of diarrhoea in just seven 
weeks from the time I set her. This was only an experi- 
ment for I wanted to see how long a hen could live under 
such conditions. 

.There are many different varieties of lice, fleas and 
mites but it is not necessary to describe all of them in 
order to combat them successfully. 

Lice. 

A louse possesses six legs and on each leg there are 
a pair of sharp claws. They live on the body and among 
the feathers of the birds; their bodies are of an oblong 
shape, and they vary in color according to the variety and 
age of them. They do not suck or drink blood from the bird 
but live on and among the feathers. They might suck or 
drink blood that might come from the abrasions of the 
skin but they have no sucking organs. They are a source 
of great irritation to the bird and if the bird has tender 
skin it might cause some bad skin disease. W T here lice are 
present they fret and worry the bird so it can not sleep or 
get any rest at all, but must fight the pests from sun up to 
sun down and all night. And of course such conditions tend 
to weaken the bird's constitution and if on little chicks 
they will be dumpish and have no energy to move around 
and follow the rest of the brood. 



JIND THEIR REMEDIES 93 

In looking for these pests examine the feathers careful- 
ly on the back, then under the wings and on the legs, now 
examine the cushion on the neck then look between the 
legs and near the vent. I expect you will find the most 
around the vent for this is the favorite place for them. If 
you do not find more than one or two you can use a good 
lice powder and kill them but if they are very thick you 
will have to use a more vigorous treatment, and use it 
about four times at intervals of about ten days. 

It is estimated by good authorities that in eight 
weeks time one louse can produce from itself and its off- 
spring about one hundred and twenty-five thousand lice; 
so you see what a few will do for you if you do not work 
against them from the start. Some think that one to two 
or a half dozen will not hurt any thing much but right 
here is where you make the mistake. 

Lice seem to thrive on birds that are listless or 
droopy, stunted growth and rough feathered. In adult 
birds that are affected with these pests the combs and 
wattles will be pale, there will sometimes be a diarroheal 
discharge. 

Lice rarely ever breed on chicks but are passed from 
some adult bird to them. They breed on the fowl among 
the feathers and the warmth of the bird's body hatches 
the eggs. These eggs are either laid in clusters or singly 
among the soft fluffy feathers near the vent. 

Mites. 

Mites are just as bad pests as lice, they will stay on 
the roosts, nests, sides of the building and in cracks dur- 
ing the day and go onto the fowls at night. The most 
common is the red or gray mite which breeds in 
the cracks, etc., or in fact most any place filth is allowed 
to accumulate. If the roost comes in contact with the wall 
of the building this is a satisfactory place for them to 
hide and breed. Mites are unlike lice; they will go onto 
the bird at night and bite and bore through the skin and 
suck the blood from it, therefore depriving the bird from 
its rest and sapping up the best of its vitality; this is the 
time the bird needs rest and must have it in order to build 
up the broken down tissues. 



94 POUL TR Y DISEASES 

A mite that is full of blood is of a redish color but 
otherwise they are a grey or whitish color. They are 
about one-fortith of an inch in length which makes them 
very hard to see with the eye. They often cluster in 
colonies and congregate for a considerable length of time 
and in these places they look nothing more than dust and 
webs. 

In sultry summer weather they breed very fast, by 
the millions and will often attack the birds in the day time 
if they sit upon the roosts or prefer to stay in the house. 
They will make the sitting hen leave the nest and if she 
stays at her post she will soon die from exhaustion and 
loss of blood which the pests suck from her. 

They will also attack horses, cows, etc., and cause 
great irritation and skin diseases. Mites do not breathe 
through the pores of their skin like lice, hence dusting 
them has very little effect on them. 

Depluming Mites. 

These pests live on the fowls at the base of the feath- 
ers and by the operation of these mites will cause the 
feathers to become diseased and irritated and will fall 
out, leaving the skin smooth and with a pinkish tint and 
some times very red. They generally work on the neck 
and head. Remove the feathers from the affected parts 
and with the aid of a magnifying glass you can see the 
depluming mites at the base of the feathers. 

For treating these cases there is nothing better than 
carbolated vaseline; apply every day for about ten days. 
If you do not begin with the first case that makes its ap- 
pearance and treat it at once you are liable to be bothered 
with it quite a lot for the rest of the flock will have them. 
Keep the coops and brooders clean and use a good disin- 
tant. 

Fleas. 

We rarely ever see any of these pests on fowls, in 
some sections they are worse than others. They will 
tear and bite the skin of birds and cause great pain; they 
are also blood suckers. The females will bury themselves 
in the skin and cause a watery growth and after it heals 
up it will leave a scar that has the appearance of a burn. 



AND THEIR REMEDIES 95 

When the bird is attacked by a great number of these 
fleas at once it will die if something is not dene immedi- 
ately. 

To Eradicate Vermin. 

In fighting vermin you must remember the little 
things and look after them carefully. No doubt you have 
often heard the old maxim which was something like this: 
^'take care of the nickels and dimes and the dollars will 
take care of themselves." This is pretty true nevertheless, 
in both cases. Remember that in fighting lice, they are 
deep into the feathers and for the treatment to be suc- 
cessful it must reach them. Any of the commercial lice 
powders advertised today are good but if you can get them 
that contain tobacco dust they will give you better satis- 
faction for tobacco dust is very poisonous to lice. In 
dusting lousy birds take them by the legs, head downward 
and dust the powder well into the feathers and work it 
down next to the skin so it will reach the lice, especially 
among the fluff of the feathers and near the vent where 
lice are found in large numbers. Treat them every ten 
•days at least for if there are any nits on the feathers af- 
ter the lice are killed they will hatch out again and soon 
have the birds covered with the pests again. 

A good lice powder can be made at home very cheap- 
ly and it will be found satisfactory in every way. Take 
three pounds of tobacco dust, one-half pound of pyrethum, 
one ounce of carbolic acid and one pound of air slacked 
lime. Mix thoroughly and have them well dried and ap- 
ply as directed above and you will find it will do the work 
satisfactory. 

If you will dust fowls in this manner it will keep the 
lice down and the fowls will be practically free of them. 
You can also free your fowls from lice by using a good 
liquid lice killer; most that are advertised on the market 
will do the work all right and in a satisfactory manner 
but some times you need it when you have not got it and 
if you should have to order it it would be late and perhaps 
the lice would eat the birds up before you could get it. A 
good liquid lice killer can be made at home and very cheap. 

It can be made by dissolving naphthaline flakes in 
kerosene all it will take up then to this add one ounce of 



96 POULTRY DISEASES 

creolin. This is also good to apply to roosts and nests to- 
kill mites. In using this to destroy lice on fowls you will 
have to have a box large enough for about ten birds; paint 
the sides and bottom of it with the solution and place the 
birds in it and cover with a piece of burlap and place some 
on the burlap. Let the birds stay in the box about thirty 
to forty-five minutes and if you will remove them you will 
find the lice on the bottom of the box dead or dying. 
Four treatments one week apart will be sufficient to kill 
every louse on them. Have the burlap heavy enough to 
give the fowls plenty of fresh air for if you do not you 
might smother them to death. 

If you will spray the nests, roosts, dropping boards 
with a strong solution of creolin and kerosene you will 
kill every mite present. It is better to use a good spray 
for in this manner you can get it in every crack and crev- 
ice right where they stay and breed. Do not let dust ac- 
cumulate for these places make good dens for them to 
breed in. It is a good idea to spray your house every 
time you clean it out and especially in warm sultry weath- 
er when they are at their worst. 

In killing head lice on small chicks a little lard with 
a few drops of creolin added makes a splendid remedy. 
And a little will go a long way. Carbolated vaseline with 
the creolin added will be as good. Grease them about 
twice and that will be sufficient to kill all lice on them. 

For fleas, sunlight and whitewash is all that is need- 
ed. In dark places where dust has accumulated and un- 
der trees and bushes soapy water with a little kerosene ad- 
ded will exterminate them. 

Dipping Fowls to Kill Vermin. 

Fowls can be dipped and every louse or parasite on 
them will be killed and it is very simple to do. On some 
warm clear day you can get a large pail for dipping them 
in and you can dip a very large flock in a very short time. 
Most any of the dips advertised now will be all right but 
if you wish you can make one that will give as good sat- 
isfaction. Take ten quarts of water heated to about 100 
to 110 degrees Fahrenheit and to this add six ounces of 
creolin and you have a good dip. Let it dissolve well be- 
fore using. Now you can begin dipping them by holding 



AND THEIR REMEDIES 



97 



the bird by the wings and immerse all except the head, 
work the bird up and down in the dip for about one min- 
ute then remove it and hold on the dripping board which 
will run it back into the bucket. In this way you save 
most of your dip. You can also rub the bird and get more 
of it out and it will make the bird dry quicker. You can. 
let the bird go and dry gradually in the sun or in a 
heated room. This may be some little bother but you 
know it is thorough. 

There are too many good reliable remedies for kill- 
ing lice on fowls for a person to let these pests gradually 
suck the life out of your birds. Birds can net possibly 
thrive and do well with them on them. They will not 
lay any eggs, they are certainly a bad looking object for 
the owner to look upon, they are liable to have all dis- 
eases if you do not get them off immediately and in fact 
I could give you many reasons why you should not let 
them be bothered with these pests. But I know most 
everyone is aware of what they will do and cause. And 
most of the intelligent and up-to-date poultrymen will not 
stand for such. 




98 'POULTRY DISEASES 



CHAPTER IX. 



HABITS. 



Egg and Feather Eating. 

Egg eating is a very bad habit and is extremely an- 
noying to the owner. It is usually caused by over crowd- 
ing, lack of exercise and the use of nests that are too low 
on the ground and are too light. Nests should be made 
as dark as possible so that they cannot see the eggs after 
they are laid. A desire for meat food will often cause 
the hen to eat her eggs after she has once gotten the taste 
of one. The first taste of an egg that they generally get 
is one that is layed on the roost and broken or is soft 
shelled. The habit rarely ever makes its appearance in 
a flock on a free range and one that is fed on a balanced 
ration. 

It is hard to cure a hen of this habit after she has once 
gotten the taste of the eggs. And it is best to dispose of 
all hens that have it. They should be eaten or sent to 
market. 

Treatment. 

Make your nests darker, give free range and make 
them work and exercise after all the food they get. Bury 
it in the deep litter or spade up the earth and bury it. 
Provide plenty of meat or animal matter. If possible 
elivate the nests about two feet above the floor; construct 
the nests so they will not permit the eggs to be scratched 
out onto the floor and broken; this will often start the 
habit. 

Feed cabbage to them in heads and swing them up so 
they can pick at it at will and this will keep them busy. 
Often it can be cured by scattering china nest eggs over 
the ground and in the houses and nests and after they 



AND THEIR REMEDIES 99 

find out they can not eat them they will not try to eat any 
more eggs. 

Feather Eating'. 

This habit is generally caused by insufficient ex- 
ercise and over crowding. I have noticed cases with all 
of the feathers eaten off of the neck leaving the neck en- 
tirely bare and of course these cases are very annoying and 
disgusting to the owner. It is usually caused by one cer- 
tain bird in the flock. When birds are housed up in the 
winter for weeks at a time they generally get the habit 
then. 

Treatment. 

Make close investigation for the hen that is causing 
the trouble and remove her at once. And it is best to sell 
lier for she will never stop the habit and will be of no use 
as a breeder. If you will place the birds on free range 
and make them take more exercise this will often help the 
matter along quite a lot. 

As a treatment apply an ointment of some bitter sub- 
stance and this will often cause them to stop their habit. 
Quinine or Aloes mixed with vaseline or lard will make 
a very good remedy or tobacco boiled in water will be 
found very satisfactory. 

Rub the feathers with either of these remedies and 
after they have taken one or two of these bitter doses 
they will not be so keen to eat them any more. 
There are "poultry bits" being advertised now to keep 
birds from eating feathers and I have found these very 
satisfactory and you can get them from any poultry sup- 
ply house. It is a small piece of leather that fits in the 
mouth to prevent the bird from closing its mouth or beak 
on the feather, but in no way will it prevent the bird from 
eating; they are held in place by a fine wire brought 
through the nostril. 

The best cure for feather eating is to give the birds 
the right kind of food and make them exercise after all 
the food you give them and as long as a bird is at work 
it will not get into any trouble. 



100 



POULTRY DISEASES 




